Shinobi Transformation!
by MementoMori115
Summary: Since the advent of chakra, the world of the shinobi has largely remained unchanged. Everyone has become content with how things work, absent of the desire to improve their fighting style. But things have changed as of late. A new type of shinobi has been introduced to the world. And their presence will shake the very foundation of shinobi society to its core.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- So, I finally caved and wrote a Senran Kagura x Naruto xover, despite my desire not to. It just seems to be the best option.**

 **Miyabi will most likely be the only SK character to appear, but that may change. As for Miyabi's skills, you can expect her to be quite strong. She is listed as jonin rank on the SK wiki. I might take some liberties in the abilities she uses, but everything will still fit in with the theme. She might be a little OOC, but I'll do my best to maintain her character. I always thought it would be interesting to have Miyabi in the Narutoverse, given her appearance and abilities. She looks similar to Orochimaru (Pale skin and snake-like eyes) and her use of black flames (similar to Amaterasu).**

 **As for Naruto, he will have access to a different set of abilities apart from his standard ones, as Miyabi will be teaching him things on the side.**

 **When it comes to pairings, Miyabi won't have one, and the rest will be canon.**

 **Not sure how much I'll do with this. It all depends on the response, so be sure to leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

Kakashi Hatake tucked his book back into a pocket in his flak jacket as he and his team neared the entrance to the village. Taking a glance at his genin team, he couldn't help the smile that threatened to tug at his lips. He was more than a bit proud of them in how they handled their first real mission. Especially considering how its difficulty skyrocketed shortly after they began it. What started as a C-rank mission, quickly evolved into something closer to an A-rank with the appearance of the assassin Zabuza and his assistant Haku. They were two deadly enemies, opponents who were well out of his teams skill range, and yet they managed to muddle through and come out victorious. Sure, there were some close calls, but they did good with all things considered. In fact, Naruto was the one who surprised him the most.

The young ninja had been making considerable progress as of late. He was still in need of major improvement, and he could do without shouting 'sneak attack!' when he ambushes someone, but there was a noticeable change in the genin. He seemed to be stronger, faster, and smarter than when Kakashi first took him under his wing. He showed a certain ingenuity in using ninja tools, being able to manipulate them better than expected. It was almost as if the hyperactive knucklehead was getting extra advice or schooling from another source. This would be something Kakashi would have to look into. After all, if someone was interfering with one of his pupils, it would be cause for concern.

As he was lost in his thoughts, Kakashi failed to notice Naruto perk up until the blonde began racing towards the gates, waving happily and calling out, 'MIYABI-NEE-CHAN!'

"Who the hell is the dobe calling out to?" Sasuke huffed.

"Maybe the idiot got himself a girlfriend? I hope that's the case. Then maybe he'll stop pining after me." said Sakura.

Miyabi, beautiful scarlet. The irony of the name was not lost on Kakashi given Naruto's heritage. "Come along students." Kakashi said, strengthening his leg muscles with a dab of chakra. "We should catch up to Naruto before he does something foolish."

When they caught up to their teammate, Kakashi was surprised to find Naruto conversing with someone. He was chattering about their mission, talking about the weird boy who looked prettier than Sakura who had died for his precious comrade, and the giant man who wielded a zanbato like it was a freaking kitchen knife.

Naruto's companion looked fairly young. Maybe twenty at the most. However this was offset by her pure white hair. Kakashi immediately felt a certain kinship to the girl as a fellow person born with white hair. Her face was rather serious looking, but it didn't seem like it was because she was annoyed by Naruto who continued to babble on.

"Sounds like you had quite the adventure." the girl remarked. "Probably closer to A-rank instead of C-rank." she said before turning her attention to Kakashi. The man almost faltered when he saw the girls yellow eyes. Her pupils were slit not unlike a snakes.

"The bridge builder didn't really appreciate the severity of the situation he found himself in." Kakashi responded as Sakura and Sasuke moved to either side of Naruto. The girl nodded in understanding, muttering something under her breath as she turned to face the genin surrounding her, Sasuke and Sakura looking at her curiously.

"Why Naruto, you never mentioned that you had such a mature girlfriend~." Sakura whispered in a teasing tone, causing her teammate to blush profusely.

"She ain't my girlfriend!" Naruto shouted indignantly. "Miyabi-nee-chan has been looking after me for the past while." he explained. "She was kind enough to take me under her wing and-"

Naruto was cut-off as the girl in question elbowed him in the side.

"Err... I mean, she's letting me stay at her place seeing as how my landlord is a total bastard."

Kakashi raised a brow at Naruto's response. This girl was letting Naruto stay with her? Curious. Not many people in the village don't hold some form of grudge towards the hyperactive blonde. But what was Naruto saying before Miyabi interrupted him? Obviously whatever it was, the girl wanted it to stay between the two of them.

"I'm only letting him stay because he wouldn't stop pestering me ever since I took him in when he locked himself out of his apartment. He's like a stray cat that keeps coming by for scraps." Miyabi grumbled as she scratched the back of her head. "Once he commandeered my guest room as his own and claimed it as his own, he started spreading the word across town of how I was his 'savior'. It'd make me out to be a total jerk if I denied him then."

"Anyway, this is Miyabi, my nee-san." Naruto stated proudly. "Miyabi-nee-chan, this is Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme, oh, and lazy Kakashi-sensei too!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miyabi-san." Sakura said, bowing politely, a gesture which Miyabi returned with a nod. Kakashi offered a lazy salute, and Sasuke rolled his eyes and tried to pull off the brooding look to mask his interest.

"It's nice to meet you all as well." Miyabi said as she put a hand on her hip. "I hope you all have been looking after my somewhat incompetent tenant."

"Aww, are you ever gonna call me something more respectable?" whined Naruto.

"Not until you prove yourself to me." the girl responded.

"I just basically completed an A-rank mission! Doesn't that count for anything?!"

"No." Miyabi answered immediately. "I wasn't there to see it. For all I know you could have been a total burden to your comrades."

"I wasn't! I even defeated one of our opponents!"

Miyabi turned to Kakashi. "Is this true?"

Kakashi decided to have a little fun with Naruto. "I'm sorry, when was this?"

"Argh! You bastard sensei!"

Sasuke and Sakura chuckled lightly at Naruto's misfortune, while the boy in question continued to rage.

"So, if we're done here," Miyabi started as she grabbed Naruto's head to stop his rampage. "I've got your favorite ramen packs waiting for you at home. So unless you want to go hungry, I suggest you stop it with the child-like behavior."

Naruto's eyes widened in fear, before he abruptly stopped his flailing. "Yes ma'am."

"And don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old."

"Yes Miyabi-nee-chan."

"That's better." Miyabi said as she released her vice-like grip. She then turned to face Kakashi again. "Tell me, do you plan on teaching these kids anything tomorrow?"

"Hmm, only in the morning, why?" answered the jonin.

"Because this little one has to do some chores. You know, house cleaning and the like."

Kakashi didn't miss how Naruto seemed to perk up at Miyabi's words. Which was strange. Why would he be happy to do housework? Kakashi decided to just chalk it up to one of Naruto's eccentricities.

"Good. That leaves us time in the afternoon. Now come along Naruto." Miyabi instructed as she left.

"Okay! See you tomorrow guys!" Naruto called out with a wave as he left.

 **(-)**

It was late in the afternoon and despite having already done training with Kakashi, Sakura, ans Sasuke, Naruto was still at it. However this time he was training with someone else. Sitting cross-legged in a forest clearing, Naruto was currently meditating with his sensei.

"In order to utilize the same powerful fighting style as me, you must commune with the spirits and identify which one you are aligned with. Only then will you be able to acquire a Secret Ninja Scroll from which you can draw power from." Miyabi reminded him.

"Yes Miyabi-nee-chan." responded the blonde. For the past few weeks, Miyabi has been giving Naruto supplementary lessons in the ninja arts. Particularly the special ones that she knew. But in order for Naruto to make any real progress he needs to acquire a scroll. Other than that, the only things she has been able to teach him is the more mundane skills like the use of ninja tools. Summoning and jutsus would have to wait until he gets his scroll.

"You have been at this for quite a while Naruto. And I'm sure you are feeling like you are barely making any progress, but I assure you that you are. I can feel it, you are close to making contact."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now focus. Shut out all outside stimuli, and commune with nature."

Naruto did as instructed. He silenced his errant thoughts and cleared his mind, putting all his focus into contacting his spirit. Then he felt it. A strong pull forced him deep into his mind. When he opened his eyes, he was in a damp sewer, unsure of exactly where he was. He heard growling coming from one direction and his curiosity got the better of him. Heading down the dark passage, he eventually happened upon a large gate with a complex seal stuck on its center. Beyond the gate he could see two giant, menacing red eyes glaring at him.

" **It's about time the two of us met."** a strange voice said from behind the bars.

"W-who's there?" asked a startled Naruto. The voice sounded demonic and it sent Naruto falling back on his ass.

" **Why don't you take a closer look child, and see?"** said the voice. A faint light filled the room and Naruto could see behind the bars.

"Y-you're t-the K-k-kyuubi no K-kitsune!" stuttered Naruto in fear.

" **Yes, I am the great Nine Tailed Fox. I was wondering when the two of us would finally have a face to face. It seems that your teacher was able to speed along the process."** the Kyuubi said to Naruto.

"A-are you g-going to kill me?" Naruto asked, still trembling in fear.

" **No. Even if I wanted to, the seal on you that keeps me imprisoned inside you prevents me from doing such. So instead, I want to make you an offer Kit."** the fox said. **"And I suggest you listen before you go blowing your mouth off like you normally do."**

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, trying to restrain himself from the foxes obvious taunt.

" **I want to make a deal with you. Although I don't like the idea of working with you, my attempts at freedom for the past 100 years have been less than successful."**

"Wait... so you want to work with me?" asked Naruto.

" **Don't get the wrong idea Kit. I said I would work with you, not submit myself to you."** explained the fox.

"So what does that mean?"

" **Simple, I will help you and I will even give you the ability to use my chakra, unopposed in certain situations. However... I expect something in return."**

Naruto knew this was too good to be true. "Okay... So what do you want?"

" **I want two thing to be precise."** the fox said as it held up two fingers. **"One; I want my freedom from being sealed again after you die, and yes that day will come in time. And two; I want you to help me kill the cockroach that dared to control me!"** the fox roared in anger.

"And who exactly would that person be? I won't help you kill them if it's gramps." Naruto said with resolve.

" **I assure you that it is no one you know. Just a whelp who doesn't know how to stay dead. When the time comes, I will let you in on his identity. But until that day comes, I will keep it to myself."** explained the fox. **"So, do we have a deal?"**

"... You swear that you'll keep your word?"

" **Only if you promise to do the same."**

Naruto took a few minutes to think over his options before finally reaching a decision. "Very well. You have a deal."

" **And so it begins."** the fox grinned. **"Here, I'm sure this is the thing you actually came here for."** he said as he tossed Naruto a scroll.

"Thank you Kyuubi." Naruto said with a bow.

" **Call me Kurama. That's my actual name."**

 **(-)**

Naruto opened his eyes again and he was back in the forest clearing with Miyabi.

"Well done Naruto." Miyabi said with a hint of pride in her voice. "You actually did it."

Naruto looked down at his hands and saw that he was now holding a scroll.

"Make sure to keep that on your person at all times. It is now the most valuable thing in your possession."

"Cool!" he shouted as he jumped up in excitement.

Miyabi decided to allow Naruto to take some time to celebrate his success before she inevitably went back into teacher-mode.

"This is so awesome! Now I'll be stronger than Sasuke-teme for sure! My first step to becoming Hokage is now complete!"

"Okay kid." Miyabi called out, gaining Naruto's attention. "Now that you have your scroll, its time to see what you can do. You do remember how I showed you to use it, right?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Of course! Now just stand back and watch!" he shouted as he held his scroll out in front of him with his eyes closed. Suddenly his eyes flashed open and he threw the scroll upward, holding onto the end so that it unraveled. "Shinobi Transformation!"

In a flash of blinding light, the scroll spun around Naruto, changing his appearance. Once the light receded, Naruto was now in his transformed state. He was wearing an orange and black overcoat. The coat was zipped closed and the collar was flipped up, concealing the bottom of his face. The coat went down to his knees, but the zipper only went down to his waist, splitting the coat open and allowing for him to move his legs freely. His pants were pitch black with an orange belt, and he was wearing black combat boots. Bandages with seals written on them were wrapped around his hands.

Miyabi could feel the raw power exuding from Naruto's form. It was far greater than hers and full of untapped potential. But he still lacked refinement. It would still be some time before he surpassed her, but he was on his way to doing so.

Naruto began looking over his appearance, patting himself down to make sure what he was seeing was real. "This... is me?"

"It seems that way kid." answered Miyabi. "How do you feel?"

Naruto began clenching his fists, getting a feel for his new power. "I feel... powerful. Like I can do just about anything."

"That's the power of a Shinobi Transformation. It greatly increases your standard abilities as well as allows you access to new ones." Miyabi explained. "Go ahead, take it for a test run."

"How?"

"Just do whatever comes to mind."

Naruto took her advice and just went with the flow. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his new power. Once he opened them, he held out his palm and aimed it at a tree. The seals on his bandages glowed red and an orb of crimson energy formed in his hand. It was swirling about like wind. Once it was the size of a golfball, it shot forward and impacted the tree, blowing the trunk to pieces and felling it. The blonde staggered back, taking in just how destructive such an insignificant looking attack was capable of. "Whoa... that's so freaking cool..." he said in awe.

"Hmm, nothing to sneeze at, but I suppose its something impressive to you." Miyabi said as she approached Naruto. "I think we'll call it a day here."

"What? Why? We're just getting started." Naruto whined. He really wanted to train more with his newfound power so he could surpass Sasuke.

"Because this is your first transformation. You're gonna feel extremely fatigued afterwards. Your body needs to adjust to its new potential." explained the white haired beauty. "That, and we need to clear out before someone comes snooping. You know what my policy is regarding my abilities."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'No one can know I'm a shinobi.'" Naruto replied. "I still don't understand why you want to keep it a secret. You're easily a jonin level ninja, you could even become an anbu. So why hide it?"

"The very purpose of a ninja is to be secretive. We deal in deception. And to deceive your enemies, one must first deceive your allies. I am keeping my abilities a secret so that I might have the upper hand against any foes I might face." she explained. "So I expect you to keep this a secret unless it is absolutely necessary for you to reveal your hand."

"Alright." Naruto responded. "Also, why do you always call yourself a shinobi? Shouldn't you be called a kunoichi?" Naruto asked.

Miyabi sighed in exasperation. "First things first; I see no distinction between the two aside from gender. And secondly; Where I come from, you are referred to as a shinobi regardless of your gender."

"Seems kinda weird. But I see where you're coming from."

"Good. Now let's head back and get some dinner." Miyabi said as she led Naruto out of the forest. "Maybe I'll even treat you to Ichiraku."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered as he fist pumped.

 **(-)**

A few days had passed, and it was now another training day for Team 7. After meeting up, the genin waited for Kakashi to show up. He was late as usual. And it was no surprise to them, that when Kakashi showed up he said that something came up and he had to leave.

"Damn lazy sensei." muttered Naruto.

"Why did he even bother showing up in the first place?" wondered Sakura.

"If that's all, then I'm heading home." said Sasuke.

"Oh! Het Sasuke-kun, wait." Sakura called out as she chased after the leaving Uchiha. "How about right now, we work on our teamwork, just the two of us?" she asked with obvious ulterior motives.

Sasuke sighed. "You're the same as Naruto."

Sakura could feel a massive rock smash on top of her ego.

"If you have time to bother me, practice a jutsu or two. Frankly, your ability is below Naruto."

And with that, another, bigger rock dropped on her.

Sakura was left wallowing in depression as Sasuke took his leave.

"Sakura-chan! Forget Sasuke, let's train together!" shouted Naruto. However he stopped his advances when he felt eyes on him. He turned around and saw the most fake looking rock he'd ever seen. It was perfectly square with two holes in it. "Hmm, I guess I'll just go this way and... Feint!" he shouted as he spun around and pointed at the 'rock'. "What kind of rock looks like that?! That has to be the worst disguise ever! Even a child could see through that!"

The box shifted about as it lifted up to reveal three kids, each wearing a pair of goggles like Naruto used to. "Just as I expected of the man I call my rival!" shouted the lead kid, who happened to be Konohamaru.

"Oh, it's just you Konohamaru..." Naruto said lazily. "Huh? What's with the goggles?"

"Heh, heh, we're copying the old you aniki!" Konohamaru said as he adjusted his goggles.

"Ahh..." Naruto grunted in understanding.

"What do you mean 'ah'?! You've been so cold to me lately aniki!" shouted the leader of the trio.

"So... What do you three want?"

"Umm... Leader, are you free?" asked the only girl in the group.

"Nope! I'm training!" Naruto answered as he jabbed a thumb at his chest.

"What?! But you promised to play ninja with us today!" shouted Konohamaru.

"Oh... Ha, ha, I guess I did." Naruto replied as he scratched the back of his neck. He knew that if he played with them it would take all day and he wouldn't be able to train with Miyabi.

"Um, why would a ninja 'play' ninja?" Sakura asked rather darkly. _'I can't believe Sasuke thinks I'm below him.'_

"Hey aniki, who's this girl?!" Konohamaru demanded. "Oh wait, I know!" Konohamaru said as he began patting Naruto on the back. "Not bad aniki, not bad."

"Hmm?" Naruto mumbled.

"She's your girlfriend, ain't she?"

"Heh, heh, heh, you brats are pretty perceptive." Naruto said with a goofy grin.

"WRONG!" shouted Sakura as she sent Naruto flying with a single punch. The blonde tumbled several times before slamming into a fence and coming to a stop.

"ANIKI!" the trio ran over to check on Naruto's condition. He was out cold.

Konohamaru then turned to Sakura, who looked like she was ready to murder the kid. "How dare you, you ugly bitch!" and with that, he pushed his luck too far.

"Bah! Damn brat!" Sakura cursed as she stormed off, leaving behind a beaten Naruto and Konohamaru.

However Konohamaru it seemed, didn't learn his lesson. "Damn it! That ugly huge forehead... is that really a girl?"

Sakura stopped mid step and slowly, menacingly turned around. Her face screamed murder.

"GYAA!" the group screamed as they turned tail and ran from the raging girl.

"OUCH! That hurt!" Konohamaru said, running into something solid. When he looked up, he saw a ninja in black pants and a black shirt, with a bandaged bundle on his back, and paint on his face. Standing next to him was a girl in her mid-teens with blonde hair tied into four ponytails. On her back was what looked like a rather large collapsed fan.

"That hurt, you little brat!" said the boy with face paint. He then grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and lifted him up to face height.

"Let go of me!" Konohamaru screamed out as Naruto tried to come to his rescue, only to be held back by Sakura. The blonde then proceeded to scream obscenities at the face paint ninja.

"Hey, you're almost as annoying as this little brat." the ninja remarked. "I hate midgets. Especially the younger ones that are rude. Makes me want to kill 'em."

Naruto and Sakura looked on in shock. As the ninja wound up for a punch, Naruto ran over to save Konohamaru. Before he could make it however, a hand caught the boys arm. "I suggest you release the boy now." came a cold voice.

"Miyabi-nee-chan!" shouted Naruto.

The ninja turned around to see the white haired woman who was holding his arm back.

"Unless of course, you want to lose the arm." she said darkly.

The ninja shuddered in fear and immediately released Konohamaru.

"What the hell are you bastards doing in our village?" came another voice. The group turned to see Sasuke sitting in a nearby tree, his hands tossing around a rock as he watched the unfolding conflict. "Get lost."

"Great. Yet another stupid brat who pisses me off." remarked the ninja. By now he had calmed himself down and returned his focus to Miyabi. "I suggest you release me now. You look like a civilian, and I would hate to have to rough you up." he said as he reached for the bandaged bundle on his back.

"And yet you were just about to kill the Hokage's grandson." Miyabi responded.

"... Eh?" the ninja uttered weakly as he began sweating. His companion shook her head and sighed.

"Kankuro." another voice called out. Everyone's attention turned to the source of the new voice. It was a boy with red hair and a large gourd on his back. He was standing upside down on the same tree as Sasuke, but no one noticed him. "You're an embarrassment to our village. I should end you right here and now."

"G-Gaara." Kankuro called out in fear, trying to explain himself.

"Losing yourself like that, how pathetic. Why do you think we even came to this village?" Gaara asked. Kankuro tried to open his mouth, but was silenced instantly. "You even had the gall to threaten the Kage's own family. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't stain the streets with your blood this very instant."

"S-sorry Gaara! I-it wasn't my intention!"

"Then don't let it happen again." Gaara said coldly as he disappeared in a cloud of sand and reappeared next to Kankuro. "Sorry to you guys." Gaara said with a slight bow as he addressed the leaf genin. "I guess we got here too early."

"Hey wait." Sakura called out. "You're from Sunagakure. You may be allies, but it is forbidden for foriegn ninja to enter other villages without permission. Why are you here?"

"Heh, talk about clueless." the blode ninja scoffed as she took out a piece of paper. "See my pass? We are here for the upcoming chunin exams."

"Chunin exams?" Naruto said as everyone sweatdropped.

"Wow, you really are clueless." spoke the blonde girl. "The chunin exam is where outstanding genin ninja from all over assemble to take an exam to become a chunin. The main purpose is to maintain power and balance, but countries just use them to show off to one another."

Sasuke jumped down from his perch. "Hey, who are you?"

"Who, me?" asked the blonde.

"No, you, with the gourd."

"I am Gaara of the Desert. I am also interested in you." Gaara replied.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Hmm, I look forward to meeting you again." Gaara said as he and his companions left.

"Wow, talk about cold." remarked Naruto. He then turned his attention to Miyabi. "Hey, Miyabi-nee-chan, what brings you out here?"

She held up a couple of bags she was holding. "Grocery shopping." she answered. "So imagine my surprise when I see you picking a fight with foreign genin, and am forced to step in and stop it from escalating."

Naruto began sweating nervously.

"What have I told you about acting rashly?"

"... That it's a fast way to getting myself killed." Naruto answered.

"Good. Now where is your sensei? I thought you had training today?"

"Lazy bastard blew us off. Said he had something important to do."

"I see." Miyabi nodded. "Very well. Come along Naruto. I have more chores for you to do at home."

"What?!" screeched Konohamaru. "But boss said he would play ninja with us today!"

Miyabi turned to give Naruto a scathing glare. "What kind of ninja 'plays' ninja?"

"That's the same thing I asked!" shouted Sakura.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- So I managed to get chapter 2 out already. I hope you like it. Eventually this story will have more of a focus on Miyabi, but right now it's Naruto.**

 **Be sure to leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at Kakashi, who had just shown up, late as usual, to the bridge he told the team to meet him on.

"Sorry, but you know how it goes. I got lost on the road to life." Kakashi responded with his usual eye smile.

"LIAR!" shouted Sakura.

"You're right. the real reason I was late was because I got caught up in registering you for the chunin exams."

"LIA- ... wait, what?" spoke Naruto.

"Here are your applications. If you are going to take the exams, then come to room 301 at the academy six days from now." Kakashi explained. Naruto jumped on top of Kakashi, hugging him and giving him thanks for nominating them. The jonin pulled the over-excited kid off of him before continuing. "Again, this is just a nomination. Whether or not you want to take them is up to you. Those forms need to be turned in by 4pm tomorrow to the Hokage's tower if you are going to take them. I'll give you the rest of today and tomorrow to decide. Based on your response, we'll go from there."

With that, Kakashi left the three genin to their thoughts.

"Hmm, chunin exams. There are gonna be a lot of strong people in that. Like Gaara and those guys from yesterday." Sasuke said.

' _If I win this, then I'll be one step closer to becoming Hokage! Then Miyabi-nee-chan will have to acknowledge my strength!'_ thought Naruto.

" **Things could get interesting, Naruto."** Kurama said to his host.

' _Yeah, I know. It's about time something exciting happens around here.'_ Naruto responded.

" **Not exactly what I meant, but yes, things will get interesting."**

' _Then what did you mean?'_

" **Something about that Suna boy. The one with the red hair. Something about his chakra signature is familiar."**

' _And what's that supposed to mean?'_

" **I can't say for sure. I need more evidence in order to confirm my suspicions."**

' _Whatever. Just tell me when you figure it out. I don't like being left out of the loop.'_

"So what do you guys think? Are you going to enter the exams?" Sasuke asked.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura however, didn't respond.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called out.

"Huh?" she uttered, whipping her head around.

"I asked if you were planning on taking the exam or not."

"Oh, yeah sure. I'll take the exam." Sakura said, a faint tone of doubt in her voice.

' _Something's off about her today.'_ thought Sasuke.

 **(-)**

"Miyabi-nee-chan!" Naruto called out as he entered their shared abode.

"What is it kid?" he heard her respond from the kitchen.

"Kakashi-sensei nominated us for the chunin exams!" Naruto said with more than a little pride as he slapped the form on the table in front of Miyabi. "Now you have to be impressed!" he said as he crossed his arms and grinned.

"Hmm, so the old cyclops thinks you can handle a little exhibition of strength eh?" Miyabi said with a faint smirk, before turning her hard gaze on Naruto who faltered from it. "I hope you understand what this means." she said as she got up from her seat.

"... More 'chores'?"

"You have no idea." she answered with a sinister grin.

Naruto whimpered. He was in for a rough few days.

 **(-)**

And so the day of the chunin exams reared its head. After dealing with a genjutsu that two genin were using to stop entrants from advancing, as well as an impromptu fight between Sasuke and Lee, followed by the subsequent disturbing imagery that was Lee's sensei, Team 7 finally arrived at the proper exam room. Stepping into room 301, the were greeted by the sight of well over 200 ninja from various villages, including their own. Out of all the ninja in the room, a particular blond-haired kunoichi that Sakura knew all too well lashed her arms around Sasuke.

"Oh Sasuke, you're late!" Ino said, blushing and smiling.

"Get away from Sasuke Ino-pig!" Sakura shouted as Naruto wisely got out of the way of the imminent catfight.

"Why, if it isn't Sakura. Big ugly forehead as always." Ino responded.

"What did you say?!"

"You guys are taking this test too?" came a somewhat tired voice. "Try not to die." spoke Shikamaru. Standing next to the lazy genin was his friend Choji, who was eating a bag of chips. The three of the made up Team 10.

"Yahoo!" came another voice, this one louder and more obnoxious. The group turned to see Team 8 approaching. "Well, well, nice to see everyone is assembled." Kiba said arrogantly, his pet dog Akamaru sitting on top of his head let out a bark as well.

"H-hello everyone." greeted the meek Hinata.

Meanwhile the third member of their team, Shino, remained silent.

"Geez, you guys too?" grumbled Shikamaru.

"I see... All 9 of this years rookie genin are taking the exam." Kiba stated. "I wonder how far we will get. Eh Sasuke-kun?"

"Pfft, you sound pretty confident Kiba."

"We did a lot of training, we won't lose to you." Kiba responded.

"Shut up!" roared Naruto as he jabbed his finger at Kiba. "Sasuke might lose to you, but I sure as hell won't!"

However Kiba seemed to not even regard Naruto as a threat.

"S-sorry Naruto... Kiba-kun didn't mean it in that way..." muttered Hinata as she pressed her fingers together, a slight blush on her face. As soon as Naruto made eye contact with her, she looked away.

' _What's with her? She always acts like this around me.'_ Naruto wondered.

" **Truly, my host is a grade-A idiot."** the fox remarked.

' _What's that supposed to mean?!'_

" **If you can't figure out the reason for the way she's acting then you must be the most oblivious person in the world."**

' _Oh yeah? Well how about letting me in on the reason?'_

" **Sorry, but you'll have to figure that out on your own. I look forward to seeing you writhe and struggle in frustration."**

' _Grr! Damn fox! I'll show you!'_

" **Tell you what; if you do manage to figure it out, then I'll teach you something cool."**

' _You're on!'_

" **Now focus. Someone's heading over here."**

"Hey you guys. You should be more quiet." spoke the newcomer. "You guys are rookies fresh out of the academy right? Screaming like schoolgirls. Geez. This isn't some kind of picnic."

"Oh yeah? And who would you be?" asked Sakura.

"I'm Kabuto. But instead of focusing on me, look behind you."

The group turned to see a bunch of foreign genin glaring at them.

"Those guys are from the Hidden Rain village, and they have very short tempers." explained Kabuto. "Everyone here is nervous about the exams, so quiet down before you cause a scene." he said as he held a finger up to his mouth. "Though I really can't blame you. You're just clueless rookies. I remember being like that once."

"Kabuto-san, is this your second time taking the test?" asked Sakura.

"Seventh actually. The exam is held twice a year, so this is my fourth year."

"Wow, so you must know a lot about the exams."

Kabuto chuckled as he adjusted his glasses and then pulled out a deck of cards. "You could say that. Perhaps I should impart some of my knowledge on to you cute rookies. With these nin-info cards."

"Nin-info cards?" spoke Naruto.

"They are basically cards that have info burned on to them with chakra." Kabuto said as he placed the deck on the ground. "I have four years of info here. Over 200 cards." he said as he flipped over one of the cards, only to reveal it to be blank. "They look blank, but to open these info cards, one has to press chakra into them. Observe."

As Kabuto touched the card, a puff of smoke appeared and the card then was covered in data. It had info on the number of participants from each village.

"Do you have cards with info on individuals?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course." Kabuto said smugly. "Though they aren't perfect, I have some info on the participants. Anyone catch your fancy?"

"Gaara of the Desert, and Rock Lee from Leaf."

"Hmm, let's see. Rock Lee. He's a year older than you and has completed 20 D-ranks and 12 C-ranks. His specialty is taijutsu with his ninjutsu and genjutsu being basically nonexistent. This is his first time taking the exams. On his team is Neji Hyuuga and Tenten." Kabuto read off. "Now Gaara. 8 C-ranks and, wow, a B-rank mission. Since he's a newcomer I don't have much info on him, but it looks like he returned from each mission without a scratch." he said as he put the cards away. "Many outstanding genin are here from various villages. This is a gathering of the most talented youngsters. So don't expect it to be a cake walk."

"M-makes you lose your confidence." spoke Hinata.

"So basically... all the people here are..." started Sakura.

"Yep!" nodded Kabuto. "Like Lee and Gaara, they are the top elite genin from their respective villages."

"Hmm, this won't be easy." said Naruto. _'But this is what Miyabi-nee-chan has trained me for. I can't afford to falter now.'_ Naruto clenched his fists as his body trembled. _'I will succeed! No matter who stands in my way, I will defeat them!'_

Sakura, seeing Naruto trembling, put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, thinking that he was having seconds thoughts. "Hey Naruto, don't get so down."

However the reality was different.

"ALRIGHT!" he shouted. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and it doesn't matter who my opponent is, I will give it my all! And I expect the same from everyone else!"

"Hey! Keep a tighter leash on your idiot!" Ino shouted to Sakura.

"You expect everyone else to give it their all? What, are you a glutton for punishment?" asked Kiba. "Big words, you show off."

"What a moron." muttered Shikamaru.

"What are you doing?!" shouted Sakura as she put Naruto in a headlock.

"Ack! Just trying to get everyone fired up!"

Sakura eventually released Naruto, who suddenly felt a surge of killing intent approaching.

" **Good, you sense it too."**

' _Of course. Miyabi-nee-chan taught me well.'_

Naruto watched as three Hidden Sound ninja made their move, swerving through the crowd and heading straight for Kabuto.

"KABUTO!" Naruto shouted in warning.

The veteran genin turned to see one of the Sound genin leap into the air and throw a handful of kunai at him. He deftly dodged, but as he landed, the second genin was already upon him.

However before he could attack, Naruto snaked his hand over and grabbed the mans arm.

"What?!"

Naruto swung his leg around and hit the back of the ninjas knee, and followed up by slamming his free arm into the mans chest, effectively throwing him to the ground. He bounced off the ground and quickly recovered, falling back to his comrades.

"You bastard. That hurt."

"That was the point." Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Thanks for the save Naruto." said Kabuto, somewhat surprised by the genins speed. The same could be said for the rest of the rookies.

"Looks like the dobe has a few surprises in him." Sasuke remarked.

"So, what's the big idea?" Naruto asked the Sound genin.

"Heh, just trying to put an arrogant ass in his place." said the lead ninja. "We're gonna be chunin, and we have no intention of letting someone like him share the same title."

"That's no reason to go and attack him without provocation."

"Whatever. You want to take the punishment in his place?" the Sound ninja said as he gripped the contraption on his arm. "Because I'd be happy to oblige."

Naruto smirked and beckoned the ninja over. "You're welcome to try."

"You're gonna regret that arrogance, brat."

"Quiet down you worthless bastards!" someone shouted as the front of the room exploded in smoke. A menacing looking man stood in front of a bunch of chunin when the smoke cleared. "I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first exam. Take your seats now before I decide to start failing people."

Suddenly order was restored to the room. After that was done, Ibiki explained the seating arrangements and informed the genin that the first portion of the test would be written.

In another world, Naruto would be sweating buckets. But Miyabi predicted the possibility of the exam having a writing section, and as such drilled the necessary information into his head. However Naruto still wasn't a big fan of paper tests.

"N-Naruto-kun..."

Naruto turned to see Hinata was sitting next to him. "Oh, Hinata!"

"L-let's do our best..." she said with a smile.

Naruto returned the gesture. "Alright!" he said with a thumbs up. "I'm sure we'll both do great!"

"Listen closely to what I'm about to say." Ibiki said as he began writing on the board. "There are many important rules to this test, and questions are not allowed, so I suggest you listen carefully."

"The first rule is that you will all start off with 10 points. The test is made up of 10 questions and each question is worth a point. For every question you get wrong, you lose a point. The second rule is that this is a team test. Your entire team will pass or fail based on your combined score."

Sasuke and Sakura both knew what this meant. They would be pulling Naruto's dead weight. That is, if he wasn't already prepared.

"Now the third rule is that if you are caught cheating you will lose 2 points. Get caught 5 times and your team will fail. The last rule is that those who lose all their points and those who don't answer any questions correctly, will automatically fail their entire team. The exam will last exactly one hour. BEGIN!"

The test went about as well as one would expect. The questions were extremely difficult to the point where one would need to be a genius-level genin to answer them. Naruto was able to answer a couple of questions, but was still struggling.

' _Damn it! How am I supposed to answer this crap?! They never taught us this in the academy!'_ Naruto thought as he scratched his head. _'Argh! What would Miyabi-nee-chan do?!'_

 **Flashback...**

"I still don't understand why you're having me practice for a paper exam. Shouldn't the test be about performance?"

Miyabi sighed. "Performance comes in many forms. Your intellect is one of them. So there is a good chance that they will be testing you on that."

"But what if they don't?"

"Better to be prepared for something that isn't happening rather then not preparing for something that will happen." she scolded.

"I guess so." Naruto muttered. "But I've never been good at written tests. What if I can't answer a question?"

"Sometimes you need to take a step back and examine things as a whole. Stop focusing your mind on the little things and instead try to view it from afar. The difference between success and failure could be something as simple as perspective."

 **Back in the present...**

' _Stop focusing and view it from afar. Examine it as a whole.'_

Then it hit him.

' _This isn't a test of our knowledge, it's a test of our ability to collect it!'_

" **Seems like you finally noticed it Kit."**

' _Thanks for the help.'_ Naruto replied sarcastically.

" **Where's the fun if I give you all the answers?"**

' _Oh piss off! Now I need to just figure out how to cheat effectively.'_

However time was running out and Naruto lacked any subtle information gathering abilities. He would have to improvise. As he tried to figure something out, he felt someone nudge his foot. Naruto looked over to see it was Hinata.

'You can look at my answers Naruto-kun...' she mouthed.

'Why Hinata? Why are you willing to do that?'

'B-because... I...' she gulped as her face lit up. 'Don't want you to disappear here...' she responded as she shuffled her test so he could see it.

'You don't understand Hinata...' Naruto replied.

'Huh?'

Naruto then shot a glance over at one of the chunin observes, he was watching them.

'It's too obvious.' he answered. 'Besides, I don't want to get you in trouble as well. That would weigh too much on my conscious if you failed because of me.' he then gave her a toothy smile. 'Don't worry about me, I'll come up with something.'

The girl blushed profusely as she looked away. 'Y-you're right. Sorry. But thanks for worrying about me.'

' _She can never make extended eye contact with me. Does she hate me or something?'_

Naruto could hear Kurama facepalm.

' _What?'_

" **You are so far off it isn't even funny."**

' _Whatever...'_

One by one, teams began dropping like flies. By the time that time was up, roughly half of the original 200 remained.

"Okay everyone. Time's up." Ibiki announced. "Time for the final question. First, there are some special rules to it. The first is that taking it is optional."

"What do you mean?" Temari asked. "What happens if we chose not to?"

"If you chose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero and your team will fail." Ibiki answered.

"What does that mean? Of course we'll take it then." said another test taker.

"However!" Ibiki interrupted. "If you take the tenth question and answer incorrectly, then you will be banned from ever taking the chunin exams ever again."

Silence filled the room.

"What is with that stupid rule?! There are guys here who have taken the exam before!" barked Kiba along with Akamaru.

"Hehe. You guys are unlucky then. This year it's my rules." replied Ibiki. "but I'm anything if not merciful. So I'll give you a way out. Those who are not confident, can chose not to take it and try again next year. So, those who wish to leave, raise your hands now and you and your team will be escorted out."

"I won't take it." one of the examinees said, raising his hand. Over the course of the next 5 minutes, a total of 30 more genin were escorted out, leaving only 78 left.

Naruto raised his hand, much to the rookie 9's shock. Then he proceeded to slam it down on his desk as he stood up, a look of determination on his face. "Don't you dare underestimate me! I will not run! I will take the question, even if I'm stuck as a genin forever!" he declared. "I'll will myself to become Hokage anyway, so I don't care if I fail! I am not afraid!"

Ibiki chuckled. "I'll give you one last chance to back out. Your life is riding on this decision."

"I follow my unbending words. That is my ninja way." Naruto said with resolve. "My only choice is to keep moving forward. Regardless of what stands in my way."

It seemed that Naruto's words had cast away the worries of the remaining genin, as no one else looked like they were going to quit.

"Excellent decision." Ibiki said with a smirk. "To everyone still remaining, I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

A chorus of "WHAT?!" erupted from the room.

"What do you mean we pass? What about the tenth question?" asked Sakura.

"You could say that your choice was the tenth question." answered the torture specialist.

"Then what was the point of this entire test?! That makes the other 9 questions pointless!" Temari shouted.

"They were not pointless. They already served their intended purpose. To test your individual information gathering abilities. The test was designed to put pressure on the entire team as each member would have to not mess it up for their team. However, the questions on this test were much to difficult for most genin to answer alone, so everyone came up with the same conclusion... You would have to cheat to score. This test was designed to make you cheat, but in order to pass you couldn't get caught." Ibiki explained. "Now, in order togive you a fighting chance, we had a few chunin mixed in who knew all the answers for you to cheat from. This is because..." Ibiki said as he removed his bandanna, revealing scars,screw holes and other evidence of torture. "Sometimes, information is more important than life, and on the battlefield people will give their lives for such information." Ibiki said before putting his bandanna back on. "If the enemy notices you, then there is no guarantee that the information you get will be accurate. Remember this, as accurate information can be a powerful weapon for you and your comrades. That is why we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated the wheat from the chaff."

"Wait, then what about the tenth question?"

"Ah, but the tenth question is the true purpose of this test. The 'take it' or 'don't take it' decision." Ibiki paused momentarily. "Let's say you become a chunin and your mission is to steal an important enemy document. You don't know the number or skill of the enemy. Do you accept the mission? Because you don't want to die? Because you don't want your comrades hurt? Can you avoid this dangerous mission? The answer is NO! Those who aren't willing to put their lives on the line. Those who cling to the uncertain future of 'there will always be next year', and then walk away from their chance. Those pieces of trash who can only make cowardly choices, don't deserve the right to become chunin. That's how I feel! You have made it through the first part of the test, I wish you all good luck."

"Hell yeah!" shouted Naruto.

Suddenly a black bundle came crashing through the window and a black poster unraveled on the back wall. Out of the bundle crawled a lady with short purple hair in a ponytail and a mesh shirt under her jacket.

"You guys, this is no time to be celebrating!" shouted the woman. "I am the proctor for the second test, Anko Mitarashi! Now let's go!" she then raised her fist up. "FOLLOW ME!"

Everyone simply stared in awkward silence.

"78! Ibiki! You left 26 teams?! The test was too easy this time!" Anko yelled.

"There were some outstanding ones this time around." Ibiki responded.

"Bah! That's fine. I'll cut 'em in half during the second test."

 **(-)**

'Danger! Stay out!' a sign read as the remaining candidates stared at the dark forest in front of them.

"Welcome to the stage for the second test, practice area 44. Also known as... 'The Forest of Death'." Anko informed. "Soon you'll find out how it got its name." she said with a sadistic grin.

"I'm pretty sure we can all give a guess based on the name." Naruto said dryly. "But there ain't no way in hell that I'll be frightened off by crap like this!"

"Oh? A spirited one." Anko said as she whipped out a kunai and threw it at Naruto. The blade grazed his cheek and flew past him. Suddenly the woman was behind him, arm wrapped around him as she leaned in and tried to lick the blood from his cheek, only to stop when she felt something pressing against her stomach. Looking down, she saw that Naruto had a kunai drawn and pressed against her jacket.

"Sorry. Force of habit." he said as he put the kunai away.

"Hmm, you're an interesting one kid. I'll give you that." she said as she pulled out another kunai, feeling someone approach from behind.

"Here's your kunai." a mysterious grass ninja said as he handed Anko her kunai with his tongue.

"Why thank you." she smiled. "But don't sneak up on me like that unless you want to end up dead."

Everyone was getting a little creeped out.

"Looks like we have a lot of blood thirsty ones in this test." Anko chuckled. "This should be fun. Now, before you start the second test, there's something I need you to fill out." she said as she produced a handful of forms. "There's gonna be some deaths in this stage of the exam, and unless you fill these out then all the blame will fall on me." she said with a cheerful smile. "Now I'll explain the rules of the test. Once you've filled out these forms, your team is to go to the booth behind me. There you will be given a scroll. It will either be a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. Since there are 26 teams here, half will get Heaven and half will get Earth. In the middle of this area there is a tower. You must bring both a Heaven and Earth scroll to the tower."

"So that's what you meant when you said you'd cut us in half." said Sasuke.

"You catch on quick kid. Around the perimeter are 44 locked gates. This will be considered a survival exercise. You may use any weapons or jutsus to complete the task. The only rule is that you cannot open the scrolls until you enter the tower with both scrolls. Other thanthat, there are no rules and killing is allowed. Also, there is a time limit. The test lasts 120 hours or 5 days. If you fail to reach the tower by the end of the time limit then your team is disqualified."

"What?! 5 days?!" cried Naruto. "What are we supposed to do for food?!"

"The forest is full of food. Just make sure you don't end up being it." Anko said. "Now, 13 teams passing is very unlikely as there are poisonous snakes, insects, beasts and other types of wildlife that would love nothing more than to see you dead... Including your fellow test takers. So, not only will teams fail from losing their scrolls, but others will die from the harshness of the course. Also, there is no quitting. You will be in the forest for 5 days, unless of course you make it to the tower early."

All the teams proceeded to collect their scrolls and head to their designated gate. Once everyone was in position and the clock struck 4pm, the second test began.

"BEGIN!"

"OK! LET'S GO!" shouted Naruto as team 7 charged into the forest.

 **(-)**

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS FOREST!" shouted Naruto as he came face to face with a giant snake.

The giant reptile lunged at Naruto, trying to swallow him whole. The blonde jumped out of the way and pulled out a paper-bomb and threw it in the snakes mouth. The snake bit down on the bomb and moments later its head exploded.

"Damn! That's nasty!" Naruto said as the blood and gore splattered over him. "Now I gotta get back to Sakura and Sasuke!"

As Naruto ran through the forest, he eventually reunited with his team just in time to stop the grass genin from attacking Sasuke.

"Sorry guys! But I forgot the password!"

"Naruto! Great job!" shouted Sakura.

"Naruto! I know you think you're cool and here to save us, but this guy is on another level!" shouted Sasuke. "Just run!"

"Heh, heh, looks like you defeated that giant snake, Naruto-kun." said the grass nin.

' _This is bad. All 3 of us will be killed at this rate.'_ thought Sasuke. _'I can only think of one way for us to escape with our lives.'_ he then deactivated his sharingan and pulled out the scroll they had been given. "I will give you our scroll. Please, take it and leave."

"Sasuke! What the hell are you talking about?! Why would you give our scroll to the enemy?!" shouted Naruto.

"I see. Very smart." spoke the grass nin. "The only way for prey to escape a predator, is to give the predator a different meal."

"Take it!" Sasuke shouted as he tossed the scroll to the grass nin.

However Naruto jumped in the way and intercepted the scroll, landing beside Sasuke.

"You bastard! What are you doing?!" yelled Sasuke. "Do you understand the situation?!"

Naruto then spun and punched Sasuke right in the face, sending him flying.

"What the hell was that for all of a sudden?!" shouted Sasuke.

"I forgot our codeword, so I can't test it, but... you're Sasuke's fake! Aren't you?!"

"You total moron! I'm the real Sasuke!"

"There's no way in hell, that a stupid coward like you, is the same Sasuke I know!" Naruto shouted. "I don't know how strong this guy is, but what guarantee is there that he'll let us go if we give him the scroll?!"

That snapped Sasuke out of his funk.

"You're the one too freaked out to understand the situation!"

Meanwhile the grass nin began cackling madly. "Excellent Naruto-kun! You are correct!" he said as his long tongue hung out of his mouth. He then rolled up his sleeve before biting down on his finger. "Since I can just kill you and take the scroll." he said as he smeared the blood on his arm.

"Shut up!" roared Naruto as he charged the man.

"Naruto! Don't!" yelled Sasuke.

"Summoning jutsu!" shouted the grass nin as a large snake popped into existence. The reptiles head lashed out and struck Naruto, sending him flying into a nearby tree. He coughed up blood as he smashed into the hard surface.

"NARUTO!" shouted Sasuke and Sakura.

"Go ahead and eat him." the grass nin ordered his snake.

Naruto's eyes flashed red with slits as his whisker marks became more pronounced. "EAT SHIT!" he shouted as he jumped and smashed his fist into the snakes head, sending it recoiling in pain.

The grass nin the sent Naruto flying with a wind jutsu before turning his attention to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun! Now it's your turn! What will you do?!" he shouted as he had his snake charge Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" shouted Sakura as the snake bore down on him.

Sasuke braced himself for the impact, but it never came. Naruto had jumped in front of him and was holding back the snake with impossible strength.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked. "You alright? Scaredy cat?"

Naruto's bravado was interrupted when the snake grabbed him with its tongue and lifted him up.

"Hey! Let go of me damn it!" he shouted as he struggled.

The grass nin got a close look at Naruto as he began making hand signs. "So the Nine-Tails brat is still alive. When your emotions are heightened, the power of the Nine-Tails overflows. Interesting." he spoke as he lifted up Naruto's shirt. "Oh my, the seal is visible. FIVE PART SEAL!" he shouted as he slammed his palm into the seal on Naruto's stomach. Moments later, the Nine-Tails energy began to fade. "This has been very interesting." the man said as he grabbed the exam scroll from Naruto. "But now you're in the way." the snake then tossed Naruto away whereupon he slammed into a tree. "Now it's time for you Sasuke-kun~."

"Not so fast you bastard!" shouted Naruto. The grass nin turned around in surprise to see Naruto still conscious. "You may have silenced _him_ for a while, and taken our scroll." Naruto said as he reached into his jacket. "But I still have another one." he said, producing his Secret Ninja Scroll.

"Hoh? And what exactly is that?"

"Heh, you're about to find out." Naruto said as he unraveled the scroll "SHINOBI TRANSFORMATION!"

When the light and smoke cleared, Naruto was wearing his new outfit and he looked like he was ready for round 2.

"Seems like you've gotten your second wind. Interesting. I've never seen a jutsu like that." the grass nin mused. "Let's see what you're capable of now!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Okay, here we are, chapter 3. You know the drill. I hope you like it, be sure to leave a review, blah, blah, blah.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

Anko Mitarashi was busy enjoying 2 of her favorite things in the world; dango and beer. It was the first day of the chunin exams second test and she was on her lunch break.

"Hahh..." she exhaled as she took a sip from her beer can. "Nothing beats dango and beer. Once I'm done eating I guess I'll head to the tower. The fast ones will probably only need about 24 hours, and we can't have the place empty when they arrive." she then tossed her dango stick at a tree branch along with the rest, the stick impaling the branch and completing the villages symbol. "Leaf mark, complete."

Suddenly one of the assistant examiners landed nearby via shunshin. "Big trouble Anko-sama!" he shouted.

"Hnn? What the hell's the matter?" she asked as she swallowed the last of her dango.

"Bodies! Three of 'em!"

"Bodies?"

"Yes! And they are weird! Please come!"

"Just great..." muttered Anko as she followed after the chunin. "Can't even go a single day with some kind of shit happening."

Once arriving on scene, she saw three dead bodies in the distance, along with 2 other chunin who were talking with a civilian whose back was to Anko.

"What's going on here?" Anko called out.

"Ah! Anko-sama! We were just questioning the woman who discovered the bodies." one of the chunin responded.

"I see." Anko said as she glanced at the woman in question. However when the woman turned around to look at Anko, the jonin was moving before she even realized what she was doing. A kunai was in her hand and she charged the woman. She stopped just short of stabbing the woman in the chest when she felt her wrist being grabbed by one of the chunin.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted.

Anko, suddenly realizing what she was doing, became deathly calm. She was about to kill a civilian. And she knew exactly why. This civilians appearance did nothing but remind her of _him_. She had the same pale skin. The same snake-like eyes. If it wasn't for the white hair, she might mistake her for _his_ female equivalent.

"My apologies." she said as she put her kunai away. "I thought you were someone else."

The civilian, for her part, was unusually calm for just having had a near death experience. She didn't even flinch. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again." she said curtly.

"So, what have we got here?" Anko asked as she walked towards the dead bodies.

"Miyabi here was the one who discovered the dead bodies. Said she was going for a walk when she stumbled upon them." explained one of the chunin as he pulled out some papers. "After examining their papers and personal items, they seem to be the Hidden Grass genin who were entered in this exam but..." the man trailed off as he gestured to the bodies. "As you can see, they have no faces. They are blank... as if they were melted off."

Anko developed a cold sweat upon learning that. There was no mistaking it. This was _his_ jutsu. ' _Why is_ he _here?!'_ "Show me the pictures of these three!" Anko demanded.

"Ah, yes!" one of the chunin responded as he pulled out their ID's.

Once Anko got a look at the pictures, she immediately recognized them. "This is bad!"

"Huh?!"

"You guys go report this to Hokage-sama!" Anko shouted as she made her departure. "Send some Anbu captains to the Forest of Death immediately! I'm going in right now!"

"Anko-sama! What is it?!" asked one of the chunin.

"It's _Him_!" she answered. "The rogue Sannin, Orochimaru!"

"Shit!" cursed one of the chunin.

"Who's this 'Orochimaru'?" Miyabi asked one of the chunin.

"He's a traitor to the village, and a very powerful one at that. One of the three disciples of the Third Hokage. The man is evil incarnate and extremely dangerous." answered the chunin. "But what he's doing in the chunin exams is beyond me."

Miyabi glanced in the direction that Anko had run. The Forest of Death. From what she knew, that's where the second test of the chunin exams were being held. The same place where Naruto currently was. The secret ninja had a suspicion as to what this Orochimaru fellow might be after. She just hoped she was wrong. Miyabi began walking at a brisk pace after Anko. Once she was out of sight, she broke out into a sprint.

 **(-)**

Sasuke and Sakura looked on in wonder at Naruto's new appearance. His outfit had drastically changed and he was now exuding a powerful aura. Their fellow genin looked down at the grass ninja with hardened eyes. Whether or not he stood a chance against him as he was now was something they did not know. However both of them knew this much; Naruto wouldn't be going down without a fight.

"Seems like you've gotten your second wind. Interesting. I've never seen a jutsu like that." the grass nin mused. "Let's see what you're capable of now!" he shouted as his snake lunged forward in an attempt to swallow Naruto.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted Sakura.

The warning was not needed as Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed. It wasn't shunshin, just pure speed. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't.

"Where did he-" the grass nin was cut-off when Naruto's fist smashed into the side of his face and sent him flying off of the snakes head. Spinning through the air, the ninja slammed into one of the nearby trees, a bit of blood trailing down his chin from a busted lip. He spat out a bit of blood as he righted himself. "Okay, I'll admit it. That caught me by surprise." he said as he made several handsigns. "But that's the only hit you're going to get." he then slammed his palm onto the trees branch. Smoke exploded outwards and dozens upon dozens of snakes shot upwards, all aimed at Naruto with their poisonous fangs.

Naruto went through several unfamiliar handsigns and swung his arm down vertically. "Tempest Blades!" several blades of crimson wind shot forward from Naruto's fingertips, slicing through both the air and the snakes. Their blood splattered everywhere, temporarily blinding the grass nin.

Wiping the blood out of his, the grass nin looked up to see Naruto in his face again. Red wind was swirling around his forearm which he had cocked back.

"Take this you bastard!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his fist into the mans stomach. The grass nin recoiled slightly in pain, the power from the punch shooting straight through his body. Naruto brought his other fist up to follow up with another punch to the gut. "It's over!"

"... Is that all?"

Naruto coughed up blood as he felt the grass nin's fist strike him in the chest first.

"Because I know a woman who can hit ten times as hard!" he shouted as he followed through and sent Naruto flying into the distance. The boy struck several branches before finally coming to a stop. His body lie motionless on the ground. "Now, where was I?" the man asked as his attention returned to Sasuke.

The boy, having seen Naruto get thrown about like a ragdoll, was of course scared of the opponent in front of him. Whatever power boost Naruto had gained was not enough to overcome the enemies strength. So there was no chance in hell he could beat him as he currently was.

Sasuke reached into his pouches and pulled out several kunai and shuriken.

But if he died here, then there was no chance he would ever be able to defeat his brother. He would have to put his life on the line in order to fight the man in front of him. Just as he would when he inevitably faces his brother.

' _I can't afford to waiver! If I fall here, then I will never be able to kill_ him _!'_ Sasuke thought as he placed one of the kunai in his mouth. _'This man is but a stepping stone on my journey. And I will not allow him to beat me!'_ Sasuke's sharingan flared to life as he jumped from tree to tree, throwing kunai at the grass nin as he did so.

The grass nin deftly dodged the kunai as he weaved his way through the branches towards Sasuke. The young genin swung around a branch and threw his shuriken at the man. The blade missed as the man jumped to avoid it, but Sasuke followed up by throwing his last kunai at the man as he was in the air. Contorting his body in a normally impossible way, the man dodged Sasuke's last kunai, only to notice the string attached to it.

' _String?'_ the man thought as he turned around, only to see that the shuriken had made a 180 and was heading straight for him. "This is, the sharingan windmill, triple blade!" he shouted as the shuriken seemingly struck him in the head.

"Alright!" cheered Sakura.

"Heh, heh." chuckled the grass nin, who turned to show he caught the blade in his mouth. It was then that he noticed Sasuke had finished his handsigns with his fingers around the string that ran from his teeth to the shuriken.

' _Dragon Fire jutsu!'_

Flames shot across the string, headed straight for the grass nin. The blaze engulfed his face, searing flesh with blistering hot fire.

"Hahh... Got him." Sasuke smirked through ragged breaths.

"To be able to use the sharingan so well at this age..." came the burning mans voice. The fire faded to reveal the mans burned face. Only it seemed that the skin on the surface was peeling away like a snake shedding its skin. "You truly are the man who carries the Uchiha blood. Just as I thought. I want you." he said darkly.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as she ran to his side.

"I made some interesting discoveries here today, but testing your powers was by far the most fun." the grass nin said as he ran a hand over his headband. Once his hand passed over it, it revealed him not to be a member of the Hidden Grass, but of the Hidden Sound! "You really are brothers. I sense a power in your eyes that surpasses Itachi."

Sasuke widened his eyes in shock. "Who the hell are you?!"

"My name is Orochimaru." he answered as he pulled out the scroll he had stolen from them, only for it to erupt in flames. "If you want to see me again, then survive and pass this exam. "Of course, defeating my men, the sound trio along the way."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" shouted Sakura. "We'd never want to see your face again!"

Orochimaru chuckled as he made handsigns. "I'm afraid it won't go that way." suddenly, the mans neck extended and shot forward. This caught the duo by surprise, and Orochimaru promptly sunk his teeth into Sasuke's neck.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted in concern.

Orochimaru's neck retracted back to his body once he accomplished his goal. "Sasuke-kun will seek me... to seek power."

Sasuke fell to his knees as a mark appeared on his neck, followed by a crippling pain. "Argh! What's this pain?!"

"What did you do to Sasuke-kun?!" Sakura demanded.

"I just gave him a little parting gift. Something to remember me by."

"HOW ABOUT I GIVE YOU A HICKEY TOO?!"

Orochimaru felt a pair of arms and legs wrap around his body, right before he felt the sharp canines pierce the side of his neck.

"Damn brat!" he shouted as he threw Naruto off of him, slamming him into the ground one last time. "This time you'll _stay_ asleep!" he then went through another series of handsigns. "Five Part Seal number 2!" he shouted as he slammed his palm into Naruto's stomach again.

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura.

Orochimaru gripped at his neck. Though the wound wasn't life threatening, it was still detrimental. "You truly are interesting Naruto. Perhaps we shall meet again as well." he said as he sunk down into the tree branch he was standing on and disappeared.

Meanwhile Sakura was now left with an unconscious Naruto and a Sasuke who was in severe pain.

"Hang in there Sasuke-kun!" she said, trying to comfort him. However it wasn't working. The pain he was in was only getting worse. Sakura could only watch in abject horror as the boy she loved continued to suffer. His screams of agony tore at her heart. They echoed throughout the forest, alerting anyone or anything in earshot to their position. Things were spiraling out of control. She wasn't trained for situations like this. Naruto was unconscious and Sasuke would probably be better off if he was as well. "Oh god... What do I do?"

 **(-)**

Anko Mitarashi ran through the forest as fast as she could. She had to find Orochimaru before he could do whatever it was that he was plotting. It was only a short time before nightfall, and once that happened she would be at a further disadvantage. She was resolved to stop him even if it cost her her life. That was how important this was to her. And even if she was unable to defeat him at the cost of her life, she would at the very least have to hold him off until Anbu arrives.

' _I_ _learned everything from you. I was one of yours, I know everything there is to know about you. And thus...'_ "It is my job to deal with you. Right Orochimaru." she said to the presence she felt behind her.

"That is a fools errand." he replied as he slithered out from the tree branch.

Anko slid several kunai out of her sleeve and into her hand as she jumped towards the rogue Sannin. Orochimaru's tongue shot out of his mouth and snaked itself around her wrist, causing her to both drop her kunai, and prematurely land on one of the tree branches.

Going through several handsigns, she gripped Orochimaru's tongue and pulled as snakes began pouring out of her sleeves and bit the appendage. summoning up all her strength, Anko ripped Orochimaru out from his hiding spot and slammed him onto the same branch as her. The snake man grinned as his tongue retracted, pulling him closer to Anko, whereupon he slammed himself into her stomach. Anko wasn't going to let him take control of the fight. She quickly grabbed one of his hands and spun him around, pinning him against the tree trunk. She used her free hand to stab through her hand and into his in order to keep him trapped.

"Heh, caught you." she said with a savage grin. She then grabbed Orochimaru's free hand and used it to make a handsign. "I'm borrowing your left hand for a moment. 'Kay?"

"This seal?!"

"Yes..." she answered. "You and I will both die here."

"Heh, heh, planning to commit suicide?" came Orochimaru's voice from behind.

Anko spun around to see the snake bastard sitting up top on another branch.

"Shadow clone." he said mockingly, at which the Orochimaru that Anko had pinned exploded in a puff of smoke. "You are a special jonin of this village." he said as he made a sign with one hand and used the other to rip off his face. "You shouldn't be using all those forbidden jutsu I taught you." he scolded.

Anko suddenly found herself unable to move as pain radiated from her neck. She collapsed to her knees, gripping at her neck. "Guh! Why... are you here?" she asked weakly.

"We haven't seen each other in so long. Yet you're so cold to me, Anko." he said as he jumped down to the same branch as her.

"Bah! Have you come to assassinate Hokage-sama?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I still lack the necessary manpower for such a feat. Just decided to come by the village. Take a walk down memory lane. Maybe recruit a few of the more outstanding genin from the village. The chunin exams really made it easy for me to locate the most promising subjects." Orochimaru said smugly. "In fact, I just gave a kid one of those 'curse seals'."

"I take it that it didn't go as planned." Anko responded with a smirk, pointing at his neck which was bandaged up and bleeding. "What, you bite off more than you could chew? Or was it the other way around?"

Orochimaru briefly scowled as his free hand wandered up to his neck. "That fox brat had more bite than bark. Something I didn't anticipate. But he wasn't my target anyway. Though he did get in the way of the kid I wanted."

"How selfish of you. That kid's gonna die."

"The chance of surviving is 1 in 10, but, like you, he might just survive."

Anko's breathing was getting progressively more ragged and sweat was pouring down her face by the bucket load. But she still managed to put on a brave face. "You must really like this kid." she snarled.

"Jealous are we?" Orochimaru asked. "Are you still upset that I threw you away?"

That hit a nerve with Anko, and she fell even lower to the ground as more pain surged through her body.

"Unlike you, this one is talented. He's a kid who carries the Uchiha blood after all. He's also very beautiful. A perfect vessel to be my successor."

Anko was fading fast. Her vision was getting progressively more blurry as the pain continued to worsen. But she needed to keep him talking. The longer he talked, the closer her reinforcements got. She might even learn something important.

"If that boy survives, things could get very interesting. Do be sure not to stop this exam prematurely. I would hate for anything bad to happen to the Leaf." he threatened as he got closer to Anko. "About 3 from my village are also taking part. I'm going to enjoy this. And if you try to end my enjoyment... well, let's try not to cross that bridge."

"Wait... You said about 3. Does that mean you have more?" asked Anko.

"Whoops. Did I say that out loud?" Orochimaru said with a smirk.

"You're slipping up, you snake bastard." Anko grinned.

"Well, be that as it may, I think I've wasted enough time. Your back up should be here soon and-"

Orochimaru barely had time to dodge the blade that swiped right in front of his face. He jumped backwards out of its range, but was forced to continue doing so as the blade was upon him again. He saw flashes of white hair as his attacker continued to press him, not allowing the battles flow to change. Finally he was pushed to the edge of the branch he was on and had his back to the tree trunk. Forced to drop his handsign which was controlling Anko, Orochimaru swiped his thumb over the blood on his neck and completed the required handsigns.

"Summoning jutsu!" he shouted as yet another large snake came into existence, forcing his attack to back off. Once he got a good look at her, he was surprised to say the least. She looked like she could be his long lost sister or something. She had the same yellow eyes, the same pale skin. The hair was the only thing that threw it off. The woman was dressed in a white coat with black trimming. A dark brown cloak was tied at her shoulders that had the Ouroboros symbol emblazoned on the back. Her left arm was wrapped in white bandages and black belts. She also wore white boots with black leggings. In her hands was a pitch black katana. "Oh? And who might you be?" Orochimaru asked as he gauged the newcomer.

"I do not see the point in giving my name to a dead man." she replied.

Anko slowly recovered and got back up. Once her eyes landed on her savior, she recognized her. It was the white haired woman from earlier. Miyabi was her name. "It's you!" she said as she rose to her feet.

Miyabi didn't even spare her a glance. A wise decision given her opponent. "Can you move?" she asked.

"Gonna need a minute. Can you hold him off till then?"

Miyabi grinned. "Easily."

"Although I am not familiar with who you are, I will have you know that attempting to defeat me is impossible. I am far above you in terms of strength and skill." Orochimaru said from his perch atop his snake. "I will give you just this one chance to walk away and pretend you saw nothing. Otherwise your life is forfeit."

"The only one whose life is forfeit, is yours!" the white haired woman shouted as she bit her thumb and smeared the blood across her sword. "Time to even the playing field. Summoning Arts!"

A large puff of smoke erupted on her position. From within it, both Anko and Orochimaru could hear a faint hiss. Suddenly a form lunged out from the smoke. It was a giant snake.

"What?!" both Orochimaru and Anko shouted.

Miyabi was riding atop the head of the snake as it slammed into Orochimaru's snake. As it bit down on the snake, Miyabi lunged at Orochimaru with her sword at the ready. Orochimaru pulled out a couple of kunai and used them to deflect Miyabi's sword strikes. The duo jumped from one branch to the other, blades clashing as they did so. Under normal circumstances, the advantage would most likely have gone to Orochimaru, but he was still nursing the wound that Naruto had given him. As such, the rogue Sannin found himself being pressured. Miyabi swung her sword downward and Orochimaru caught it between his kunai, the blades interlocking to hold the katana in place.

"I will admit; you have quite a bit of fire in you. More than my former underling." he said as he cast a glance at Anko who was recovering. "And to be able to use the snake summons, one that I don't recognize at that... you have truly piqued my interest. Just who are you?"

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine." Miyabi growled. "Who is it that you were after? Was it the Nine-Tails vessel?"

Orochimaru smirked. "Ah, so that's your connection to this. You must be his guardian or something. Alas, he was not my target, although he did show me some interesting things."

Miyabi snarled as she put more pressure on her sword.

"But worry not. I made sure to leave him alive. A little roughed up, but still breathing." Orochimaru continued. "Now it's your turn. Who are you?"

"The name is Miyabi. And I'm just another Konoha civilian." she answered.

Orochimaru smirked. "Just a civilian eh? How interesting. You are able to stand toe to toe with me, yet you claim to only be a civilian. Either you lie... or you have been keeping your skills a secret. How delightfully deceptive of you. Now tell me, what is the summons you are using?"

"Sorry, but that's all you're getting from me." Miyabi responded as she swung her sword outwards, knocking the kunai from Orochimaru's hands.

The snake Sannin responded by extending his tongue and wrapping it around Miyabi's sword arm.

"Burn!" she shouted as her left hand became engulfed in black flames.

' _What?!'_ thought Orochimaru. He quickly released his hold on Miyabi before she could grasp his tongue with her flaming hand.

"I'm not finished!" she roared as she held out her palm. The black and red flames shot forward, aimed at Orochimaru. The fire exploded once it hit his position, a roaring blaze of death erupting and lighting up the dark forest. The flames burned for a short while before Miyabi swiped her arm in front of her and they vanished.

"Did you get him?" Anko asked as she made her way over to Miyabi.

"... No." she answered.

"That was a most surprising attack." came Orochimaru's voice.

The two women looked around them but could not find the source.

"You are filled with just as many surprises as the Nine-Tails brat. I eagerly await our next encounter. But I can assure you of this; it will not be in your favor as this fight was."

"He's gone." Anko stated.

"So it would seem." Miyabi responded. "Do you need aid?"

"I should be fine in a few minutes. And my backup she be here soon." she answered as she took a seat.

"Good. Because I need to leave. My identity must remain a secret. I trust that you will keep it that way." spoke Miyabi.

"Sorry, but if there is an unmarked kunoichi in Konoha, then I need to inform the Hokage. Especially if she is strong enough to stand against Orochimaru."

Miyabi remained silent for a few moments, pondering her options. Had she wanted to keep herself a secret, all she need do is kill Anko. She was still relatively weak and there would be no witnesses.

She gripped her sword handle tightly.

"... Fine."

But that's not the type of person she wanted to be.

"But you can only tell the Hokage. My skills must remain a secret to the rest of the village. It is important that it stays that way."

"I suppose I can agree to that." Anko answered.

"Good. Now I must be on my way." Miyabi said as she disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Hmm, just who are you Miyabi?" Anko wondered aloud.

 **(-)**

"GYAAAA!" cried Naruto as he awoke to the feeling of someone pounding his head in. He looked to his side to see Choji and Shikamaru helping him to his feet. As he cast his glance forward, he saw Sakura tending to Sasuke. Then he remembered what happened just before he was knocked out. _'Where's that grasshole?!'_

"Nice to see that the idiot is finally awake." Shikamaru remarked as he poked Naruto with a stick.

"Ha?"

"Just looking at you gets on my nerves. I feel like your very presence is causing my IQ to drop."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" he shouted before returning his attention to his teammates. "Sakura-chan!" he called out as he ran over to them. "Your hair! It's..."

"Oh! You mean this?" she asked as she ran a hand through her now shorter hair. "Just trying an image change!" she said cheerfully.

The rest of those present knew the real reason for her shorter hair, but they remained quiet.

"I like it longer, but you know, in this forest it can get in the way." she explained.

"Ah, I see." Naruto nodded. "By the way..." he started as he turned to face Team 10. "Why are you guys here?"

"Hahh, explaining it to you would be a waste of time." sighed Shikamaru.

"... Everyone came to save us." Sakura answered.

Suddenly Tenten from Team 9 landed next to Ino who was holding Lee. "I'll take it from here." she said as she took custody of the taijutsu specialist. "Snap out of it! LEE!" she yelled as she violently shook him, eliciting a sweatdrop from everyone.

"Hnn? Tenten? Why are you here?" he asked groggily.

"We came to save you idiot!"

"Hey? Where are the sound nins?" he asked.

"That Sasuke kid drove them off." she answered.

Lee turned to look at Sasuke. "... I see."

"Why did you break the plan and act alone? Plus you're all beaten up." scolded Tenten.

"Sakura-san was in trouble, and as a man I-"

"You idiot!" shouted Tenten. "You are such a moron I can't even comprehend it!"

Lee chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't argue with you there."

"Oh hey! It's bushy-brows!" stated Naruto. "How's it going buddy?"

"How dare you be rude to Lee-san!" shouted Sakura as she smacked Naruto across the clearing.

' _What the hell happened... while I was out?'_ Naruto wondered as he was splayed out on the forest floor.

"He is totally clueless. Unable to read the situation." stated Shikamaru.

"He's the type that could never become the main character." added Choji.

Meanwhile Sakura walked over to Lee and smiled at him. "Thank you Lee-san."

Lee looked up in surprise to see Sakura's gentle smile.

"Thanks to you I have awakened. I feel like I've become a little bit stronger."

Once everyone got caught up, the three teams dispersed, deciding not to test fate with seeing who has what scroll.

"So Naruto, what exactly was that jutsu you used earlier?" Sakura asked as the three made their way through the forest.

Naruto began sweating profusely. "W-what jutsu?"

"You know the one she means dobe. That one that changed your appearance. You pulled out a scroll and shouted 'shinobi transformation'." Sasuke reminded him.

"Err, maybe you guys are remembering things wrong." Naruto said nervously.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar and pinned him against a tree.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Sasuke rummaged through Naruto's jacket until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a scroll. "Talk. Now."

"O-okay. Words, blah, blah, blah! I'm talking!"

"That's not what I meant." Sasuke growled.

"Naruto." Sakura said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not good to keep secrets from your friends. We need to know exactly what we are all capable of if we are to stand a chance of surviving."

I'm sorry! But my sensei made me swear not to tell!" Naruto responded.

"Oh? So you have a sensei huh?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto clasped his hands over his mouth. _'Crap!'_

"Who is it?" Sasuke demanded.

"Torture me all you want, but I won't sell her out!" Naruto shouted.

"So it's a woman."

' _Double crap! Sorry Miyabi-nee-chan!'_

Sasuke glared at Naruto for a few moments, before returning the scroll to him and releasing his grip. "I expect you to tell us at some point. But right now we can't be wasting our time on crap like this."

 **(-)**

A few days had passed since the encounter with Orochimaru, and Team 7 was in dire straights. They had less than a day until the deadline and they were still lacking a scroll. Along the way, they happened across Kabuto, who was kind enough to aid them. They decided that the four of them would head for the tower and hopefully encounter another team with the proper scroll along the way.

The tower was finally in sight for them. However no matter how long they walked, they never seemed to get any closer to it.

"How long have we been walking?" Sasuke asked. "We aren't getting closer to the tower at all."

"That's true." Kabuto mused.

"It seems like it's right in front of us... This is weird..." Naruto remarked.

"Seems like, we've already arrived at our welcoming party." Kabuto said as he pointed to a tree. "Look."

The three genin looked at the tree, only to see the dead giant centipede that Naruto had killed hours earlier.

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke guessed.

"Looks like it. We have totally fallen into a trap." answered Kabuto. "Seems like they took advantage of our worries, and made us walk in circles."

"They are watching us."

"They probably plan to tire us out and use that opportunity to get us."

"Then it's going just as planned."

"Yes. They should be ready to attack at any moment."

Suddenly, dozens of ninjas came literally crawling out of the trees and bushes.

"So they've appeared." Sasuke stated.

"Bah! This is a perfect handicap!" grinned Naruto.

"That's a lot of bad guys." Kabuto remarked.

"Are they clones?" asked Sakura.

"Heh, heh, you're trapped rats." one of the ninja spoke.

"Shut up!" Naruto roared as he charged forward and slammed his fist into the chest of one of the ninjas.

"Great job Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

However ass soon as Naruto followed through with his attack, the ninja splattered everywhere before multiplying.

"WHAT?!"

Sasuke activated his sharingan as he joined the frey. "Naruto! Look out!" he shouted as he threw shuriken at the ninja that was about to attack him. The clone took the hit as another threw a kunai at Sasuke.

"Get down!" shouted Kabuto as he tackled Sasuke down who had frozen in pain due to his curse mark. The kunai sliced Kabuto on the arm as he did so.

"Kabuto! Are you okay?!" Sakura called out.

"This pain is real. It's not an illusion."

"Give us your scroll." one of the ninja demanded.

"What the hell are these?!" roared Naruto. "Shadow clones or genjutsu?! Kabuto got hurt, so it can't be genjutsu, but they don't disappear after a solid hit!"

"They are illusions!" shouted Sasuke. "This is the enemies genjutsu."

"B-but Kabuto-sans injury is real." Sakura said.

"No. Sasuke-kun is correct." Kabuto spoke. "The enemy is probably matching up their attacks with their genjutsu in order to make it seem like the illusions are attacking."

"Then all we gotta do is find these cowardly assholes and kick their asses!" yelled Naruto.

"Easier said then done." Kabuto responded. "They use the illusions to their advantage in order to confuse our sense of where the attacks come from. This is how they fight. The real enemy is physically weak, and therefor won't reveal themselves until we can no longer move. All we can do right now is dodge and formulate a plan!"

"Screw that!" shouted Naruto. "I've got one right now!" he then pulled out his Secret Ninja Scroll. _'You ready for this Kurama?'_

" **As I'll ever be."**

"Shinobi Transformation!" a blinding light appeared and Naruto was transformed again. "Everyone get down!" he shouted as he began to twist his body. "Hurricane Gale!" he yelled as he spun his body, whipping up a crimson wind that spiraled outward and sliced apart all of the illusions. The wind kept going into the forest and eventually Naruto heard the screams of the enemy ninja. "There!" he shouted as he pointed to one of the trees.

"I see them!" responded Kabuto.

"Damn it!" the enemy ninja cursed.

Naruto bit down on his thumb and went through a few handsigns before slamming his palm on the ground. "Summoning Arts!"

As the smoke cleared, a pack of large foxes were revealed.

"Sick 'em boys!" Naruto ordered as he pointed at the enemies.

The foxes lunged forward and chased after the fleeing ninja, nipping at their heels and eventually pinning them to the ground.

"Argh! Get off of me!" shouted one of the ninja as he pulled out a kunai and tried to stab the fox that pinned him. Only to have his arm stomped on by Naruto.

"Your scroll. Hand it over." he demanded. Naruto's eyes were red and slit like earlier, the rather unsettling appearance striking fear into the ninjas heart.

"Eeek! Please, don't hurt me!" he begged as he pulled out a scroll. "Here's our scroll, now let me go!"

Naruto snapped his fingers and the foxes burst into smoke. He then leaned down next to the enemy ninja. "Run."

The ninja didn't need to be told twice and promptly made his escape.

Naruto turned to his teammates, whose mouths hung open in surprise. "I guess we're done here." he stated simply as he tossed the newly acquired scroll up and down.

"... S-since when can you do summons?!" demanded Sakura.

Naruto brought his finger up to his lips. "Sorry, but that's another secret."

 **(-)**

After arriving at the tower and splitting up with Kabuto, Team 7 made their way inside where they came across an empty room with a sign.

"This is probably about the scrolls." Sakura surmised as she read the sign. "I think we're supposed to open them now."

"Alright... Let's open them up."

As soon as they did so, Sasuke realized what they were.

"These are summoning type jutsus! Naruto, Sakura, throw them!"

The two tossed the scrolls away, which promptly exploded in smoke. As the smoke began to clear, the trio could see a figure beyond it. It was Iruka-sensei.

"Hey!" he called out. "Long time no see."

"What's going on?!" Sakura asked.

"Looks like you guys ran into some trouble." Iruka said as he pulled out a pocket watch. "At the end of the second test, it's set up so that we chunins meet up with the exam takers. And I was the one to be allowed to greet you."

"Greet us?"

"And it looks like you just made it on time." Iruka said as he looked at his watch. "The second test. All three of you pass. Congratulations! To celebrate your success, I'd like to buy you each a round of ramen, but-"

"WE DID IT!" Naruto cheered as he tackled Iruka in a hug.

"H-hey Naruto, listen until the end." Iruka said as he picked Naruto up by the collar.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" However Naruto was still too busy celebrating.

Meanwhile both Sasuke and Sakura collapsed in exhaustion.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- A somewhat shorter chapter than the other ones. I had wanted to make it longer, but I also wanted to post it before Christmas came. I get really busy with family this time of year so I don't know when I can write again.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all like it. Be sure to leave a review as it really helps.**

 **And like I said, I kind of rushed this one, so be sure to point out anything that seems wrong or if the speed of it feels off and I'll see about updating it later.**

 **Probably forgetting something else, but when aren't I?**

 **Merry Christmas!**

 **EDIT- I added more to the chapter. Hope you like it.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

Anko Mitarashi sat on a couch in the tower's command center. Her hand drifting over the curse mark on her shoulder as she groaned in slight discomfort.

"Does the curse still hurt?" the Hokage asked.

"No. Thanks for the help with it. It would have been a lot worse had his focus not been disturbed." the jonin replied as she put her jacket back on.

"By the way, Orochimaru is one of those three legendary Leaf ninjas, right?" asked one of the chunin in the room. "Isn't he the hand-book class S missing ninja that even the Anbu can't get close to? I heard that he already died."

"Turns out that rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated." spoke Anko.

"But why would he come to the village now?" another chunin asked.

Anko remembered her discussion with the rogue Sannin. He mentioned he was after the boy with Uchiha blood. And there was only one in the entire village. "He probably wants..."

"Sasuke right?" the Hokage finished.

"Huh? How'd you...?"

There was a beep on one of the camera feeds that grabbed everyones attention. "Anko-sama! We have confirmed that 21 have passed the second test. In accordance with the rules, for the first time in 5 years we will start preparations for a preliminary before the third test. As of now the second test is complete."

"Well... Let's continue the exam as planned." spoke the Hokage. "We will keep our eyes on Orochimaru's movements in the meantime."

"As you wish sir." responded Anko. "But first, I need to speak with you in private."

The aged ninja saw the look in Anko's eyes and understood that what she was going to tell him had to be for his ears only. With a glance and nod of the head, the rest of the ninja exited the room and left the two alone.

"Now, what do you have to say?"

"If you haven't been able to figure it out yet, I wasn't the one who drove off Orochimaru." Anko started.

"That much is obvious. You wouldn't have been able to with the curse mark affecting you." the Hokage mused. "So I take it that this has to do with the person who aided you?"

"Are you familiar with the name Miyabi?" Anko asked.

The Hokage hummed as he scratched his chin in thought. He wasn't familiar with everyone in the village, but he felt like he heard the name before. "Hmm, not that I can think of off the top of my head."

"Well, apparently she claims to be a civilian of Konoha, yet she was able to fight the snake bastard to a standstill."

"So we have a powerful kunoichi hiding among us. One whose strength rivals Orochimaru's. Strange how we haven't noticed them before. What does she look like? I can send Anbu to try and find her."

"She looks like she could be Orochimaru's daughter or something." Anko answered. "Same eyes, same skin, the only real difference is that she has short white hair despite being young."

"Anything else we can go on?"

"It seems that she is connected to the Nine-Tails vessel. She was concerned for his safety if the way she questioned Orochimaru was anything to go by."

The Hokage's eyes widened in realization. He remembered where he heard the name before. "Naruto told me about how he was staying with someone as of late. His 'Miyabi-nee-chan' he called her."

"Sounds like our girl." Anko responded.

"I'll send word to Anbu to go pick her up discretely."

"I'd be careful about doing that though." Anko spoke. "She wants to keep her identity as a kunoichi a secret, and she's very powerful. She can use an unfamiliar snake summons as well as manipulate a black flame."

"Black flame?!" the Hokage nearly shouted.

"What?! Is there something important about that?"

The Hokage went quiet as he calmed himself. "Maybe. I can't be sure, so I'll need to do some research. But keep your lips sealed about this. It feels as if something is stirring in the shadows."

 **(-)**

Naruto had watched the preliminary fights with a scrutinizing gaze. Miyabi had drilled it into his head that if possible, he needed to get as much information about potential opponents as he could. It was the best way for him to could gain an advantage in battle. And right now, being able to see just what his upcoming opponents were capable of was practically a godsend. Now he wouldn't be going into the finals blind. Sure, he had to deal with one unknown, but he was confident enough in his abilities to muddle through.

And it was with that thought in mind that Naruto's match finally came up. He was to fight against Kiba Inuzuka.

The blonde grinned when he saw his name pop up on the screen. "Finally, it's my turn."

His opponent Kiba, began laughing once he realized who he'd be fighting. "Lucky! We can definitely beat him Akamaru!" the small dog barked in agreement.

The two combatants made their way into the ring and waited for the referee to give them the go ahead.

"The seventh match, Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka!" he called out.

"Hya, ha, ha, ha! It's like we've already won! So lucky! Ain't that right Akamaru?" the dog barked in agreement yet again.

"Shut the hell up Kiba!" Naruto shouted. "I'll have you know that if you underestimate me here, then you'll definitely lose!"

"Yeah right! You're still the same old fool from the academy. I'm gonna totally thrash you."

"Took the words right out of my mouth! It doesn't matter if you have your ninja animal fighting with you, I'll still win if it's two on one." Naruto bragged.

Kiba smirked. "Hah, acting all tough. Tell you what, I'll do this." he said as he leaned down to pet Akamaru. "Stay out of this buddy. I'll handle this alone."

"Naruto! Don't you dare lose to him!" Sakura shouted from the stands.

The two combatants stared each other down. Eagerly waiting for the match to begin.

"I feel bad for you." Kiba said. "So I'll end it with one punch."

"Ah, is that so? I guess I'll do the same then."

"Stop acting tough!"

"It's not an act." Naruto smirked.

"Alright, BEGIN!" shouted the ref.

Kiba immediately crouched down as he went through handsigns. "Beast effect ninpou: Quadruped jutsu!" Kiba's body became noticeably more beast-like as he radiated strength. He was now on all fours and ready to strike. "Here I come!"

The beast genin lunged forward, straight at Naruto. He was aiming to strike Naruto right in the chest and immediately end the fight. But as he got closer, Naruto twisted his body, spinning it slightly, and just barely avoided the attack as Kiba went past him. However that wasn't the end of it. As he spun, Naruto brought his leg around and smashed it into the back of Kiba's neck and slammed him into the ground. Bouncing violently off the ground, Kiba groaned as he tried to get up, only to get a foot to the face which sent him across the room.

The entire viewing gallery was shocked. Everyone had written Naruto off as a complete loser, and yet he just pulled off an incredible counter attack.

"Don't underestimate me!" Naruto yelled as he charged Kiba.

The Inuzuka clansman brought his arms up in front of him to block Naruto's swing, only to be shocked as the blonde switched to another kick at the last second. His leg slammed into Kiba's side and caused the boy to stagger.

"Damn it!"

But Naruto wasn't done yet. He continued his assault, not letting up and refusing to give Kiba a moments to breathe.

The beast genin struggled to keep up his defense against the unrelenting attack, and for every successful block he made, Naruto would get another hit in. "You little shit! Give it a rest and let me attack already!"

"Hell no!" Naruto responded. "If given the chance, one must control the flow of the battle! Don't allow your opponent the chance to recover, and keep them pressured until they are defeated! The best defense is an absolute offense!" the blonde shouted as his fist caught Kiba square in the jaw.

' _Damn it! At this rate I'll be finished!'_ thought Kiba. He then quickly pulled out a soldier pill and tossed it at Akamaru. "Come on buddy!"

The dog caught the pill in its mouth and swallowed it. Moments later its chakra levels shot up and its fur turned red and stood on end as it growled. Kiba followed up by taking a soldier pill as well.

"Soldier pills huh? An all or nothing gambit." Naruto remarked. "It doesn't change anything, you're still going to lose!"

"We'll see about that." Kiba responded as he crouched down and made handsigns again. Akamaru then jumped on his back.

*Bark, bark!* (Human effect ninpou!)

"Beast effect ninpou!" there was a puff of smoke and Akamaru transformed into a copy of Kiba. "Beast Human Bunshin!" he said, a certain feral look in his eyes now.

"Damn, you're looking pretty intimidating with your eyes like that." Naruto remarked. "I suppose I better respond in kind." _'You back with me Kurama?'_

" **I'm here. Time to get serious."**

Naruto's chakra levels skyrocketed as the Nine-Tailed fox poured his chakra into him. A faint red aura surrounded his body as his eyes became red slits and his whisker marks became more pronounced.

"What?!" Kiba exclaimed.

The majority of the audience was shocked as well. Some just because of the massive amount of menacing chakra Naruto was giving off, and others who knew of the true nature of the chakra.

' _He's able to draw out the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra in such a way?! Impossible!'_ thought the Hokage. _'What is going on here?'_

' _Naruto, just what the hell have you been doing in secret?'_ wondered Kakashi.

' _I'm so gonna pound some answers out of you after this!'_ decided Sakura.

' _Naruto... You've become so strong...'_ Hinata thought in awe.

Meanwhile, a certain Sand genin grinned. _'Interesting.'_

Back in the ring, Naruto raised his hand and beckoned Kiba over. "Come on pooch. I'm gonna teach you how to play dead."

"Grr! Bullshit! Take this: Quadruped jutsu!" Kiba roared as he and Akamaru charged Naruto.

The two beasts slashed away at Naruto with their claws and swung at him with their legs, but none of their strikes found purchase. Naruto was flooding his legs with chakra in order to move much faster then them. Deftly dodging the attacks of the duo, Naruto slowly was able to grasp the pattern of their movements. Son he would counter attack.

"Go Naruto!" cheered Sakura.

"Is this the same Naruto that we know from the academy?" asked Ino.

"For once, I have no idea." responded Shikamaru.

"He's much better than I remembered." added Choji.

"N-Naruto-kun... W-wow..." Hinata whispered in awe.

The other jonin team leaders watched the battle unfold with a curious gaze. They all expected Naruto to be swiftly defeated, but he was doing rather well. Better than Kiba in fact.

"Hmm, I see you've trained the little rascal well." Asuma said to Kakashi. "I honestly didn't expect you to make so much progress with him."

"It wasn't me." Kakashi replied.

"Huh?"

"Sure, I taught him some things, but this goes beyond the skill of what I've been teaching my team."

"You mean..."

"This is something else. I've pondered the possibility that Naruto has been getting extra lessons from someone, but I have no idea who."

The Hokage listened intently to this. He had an idea as to who was giving Naruto extra lessons.

Back in the arena, Naruto parried a strike from Kiba and flung him into Akamaru, sending the two of them tumbling to the ground. "Are you done yet?"

Kiba snarled. "Not even close!" he shouted as he and Akamaru got back up. "Take this! Beast Human taijutsu supreme technique!" both Kiba and Akamaru twisted their bodies as they rushed Naruto. "Piercing Fang!" the two of them became a mass of swirling destruction, poised to shred Naruto to pieces.

There was no room or time for Naruto to dodge. He had to come up with something else. "Alright then, how about this?!" Naruto yelled as he charged head on into the attack.

"What?!"

"He's going straight in?!"

"The idiot's gonna get himself killed!"

"N-Naruto-kun!"

' _The attack may look intimidating, but it's still just two dudes spinning their bodies rapidly. All I need to do is halt the rotation to negate the attack.'_ Naruto thought as his eyes did their best to track the movements of his opponents. _'There!'_

Naruto reached out both of his hands and rammed them at the forefront of the dual Piercing Fang attacks. Reaching out, he found what he was looking for. "Got you!"

You could hear a pin drop. That's how shocked silent the room was. Naruto had reached out and caught both Kiba and Akamaru by the hands, amidst their spinning mind you, and stopped their attack.

"What?!" Kiba shouted in rage.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled as he released their hands and delivered punches to both of their faces. Akamaru's transformation ended and he was unconscious, but Kiba was still kicking.

"You damn whelp! How is it that you, the loser, are so strong?!"

Naruto raised his fist and pointed it at Kiba. "Because I have a goal, and nothing is going to stop me from reaching it. My dream is what drives me. Pushes me forward. And it's what makes me strive to get ever stronger!" Naruto then raised his hand upwards and pointed at the ceiling. "I will keep on going until I reach the top! No matter what blocks my way, I will smash any and all obstacles as I run down the path I've chosen! Until the day I die and even beyond that, I'll do the only thing I can, and that's charge ahead with all my might!" Naruto then charged Kiba as he did the handsign necessary for the Kage Bunshin jutsu. Several more Naruto's poofed into existence.

Kiba braced himself as Naruto and his clones rushed him. "Take this! My new special technique!" Naruto shouted as his fist made contact with Kiba's chin and sent him skyward. His clones joined him in the air as they pounded the Inuzuka clansman, juggling him and extending his airtime while shouting. "Na-ru-to Uzumaki Rendan!" the aerial combo finished with Naruto slamming his heel into Kiba's chest and sent him careening back into the ground with a bone crunching impact.

Kiba's body remained still as Naruto stood above him, only slightly winded. The ref walked over to Kiba to check his status. Letting out a sickly cough, the ref raised his hand. "Winner! Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Hell yeah! Go Naruto!" cheered Sakura.

"He actually beat Kiba!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"That was awesome!" Choji added.

' _Naruto-kun!'_ Hinata thought with a smile.

" **Well done Kit."**

' _Ha! You know it!'_ Naruto responded as he made his way back to the stands. _'Miyabi-nee-chan, thanks for helping me get stronger.'_

As Naruto made his way back over to his team, he passed Hinata who was fidgeting uncomfortably. He then remembered his bet with Kurama and decided to try and make some progress on his investigation. "Hey Hinata?" he called out.

The girl let out a small 'eep' and stuttered out something unintelligible. Eventually she collected herself and turned to face him. "Y-yes?"

"You okay? You seem kind of jittery. You nervous for your match?"

Right now the girl was on cloud 9. her crush was talking to her. Acknowledging her... Concerned for her. It took all of her willpower to stop herself from fainting. But eventually she managed to respond. "W-well... yes... T-thanks for asking..." she answered as she cupped the small container in her hands.

"Well, good luck! I'm sure you'll do great!" Naruto said with a toothy smile. "I'll be sure to cheer you on!"

"Y-you'd do that f-for me?"

"Of course!" he answered as if it were common sense. "You offered me help in the first test, so I'll do my best to support you here."

' _H-he... wants to support me!'_ Hinata thought as her body temperature rose and her face reddened. "T-thank you..." she replied with a slight bow. Finally mustering up her courage, she held up the container in her hands. "H-here Naruto-kun."

"Hmm? What's this?" he asked as he looked at the mysterious substance in the cup.

"It's medical cream." Hinata's jonin-sensei answered.

"Why for me?"

"Just take it Naruto." Kurenai said.

"Uh, sure." he said as he took the cream. "Thanks Hinata! You're real nice!"

"Y-you're welcome." Hinata responded in a whisper.

Naruto spent an extra moment watching the meek girl, noticing how her face was flushed and she pressed her fingers together. Naruto always knew her for being shy, but now that he thought about it, she was always more shy around him. "Hey Hinata, are you sure you're okay? You look kind of feverish." he said as he placed his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.

"EEEEP!" she squealed as she stumbled backwards.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Naruto quickly apologized. "I guess I was overstepping my bounds." he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I-it's okay... Thanks for the concern... but I'm fine..."

Naruto never noticed it before, but Hinata was rather cute. Her shy nature only further heightened that attribute of hers. _'I can't believe I never noticed that about her before.'_ he thought as he headed back to his team.

"Now, we'll announce the next match." said the ref.

Everyone looked up at the screen to see who would be fighting.

Hinata Hyuuga vs. Neji Hyuuga.

Hinata paled slightly whilst Neji maintained his stern look.

The two combatants made their way down to the arena and stood across from one another.

"I never thought I'd be facing you... Hinata-sama." Neji spoke.

"Neji-nii-san." Hinata responded.

"Huh? They're siblings?" Naruto asked.

"They are both members of the Leaf's oldest and greatest bloodline... The house of the Hyuuga clan." spoke Kakashi. "But they aren't siblings."

"Then what are they?" Sakura asked.

After a long winded explanation from both Kakashi and Neji's teammate Lee, it was surmised that Neji is part of the slighted branch house, while Hinata is part of the main house. In actuality they are cousins.

"So Neji hates Hinata for being part of the main branch." Sakura said.

"Now, begin the match!" shouted the ref.

The two Hyuuga clan genin took up a stance, but Neji held his hand up. "Before we begin the fight, I'd like to say something, Hinata-sama. You don't make a good shinobi... forfeit now." he said coldly.

Hinata was somewhat shocked by his proclamation and it showed.

"You are too kind." he continued. "You wish for harmony and avoid conflict. You always agree with others, never resisting."

Hinata was no longer able to make eye contact with her cousin as she looked away in shame.

"And you have no confidence in yourself. I always feel your sense of inferiority. That's why I feel it would be best for you to remain a genin. But the chunin exam can only be taken as a team of three. You couldn't turn down your teammates request and unwillingly chose to enter the fray. Am I wrong?"

"N-no... I... I just wanted... wanted to... change myself..." Hinata answered weakly. "I wanted... to do it myself..."

"Hinata-sama... Just as I though. You are nothing more than a spoiled brat of the main house."

"Huh?"

Neji glared at the girl. "People cannot change themselves!" he said firmly. "Losers are losers. Their personality and strength will not change. Because people cannot change, differences are born. Expressions like elite and loser are created. Looks, brains, ability, personality... All people judge and are judged in these values. Based on these unchangeable factors, people discriminate and are discriminate against. And they suffer within their own means. Just like the fact that I am from the branch house and you are from the main house cannot be changed."

With ever word he said, Hinata felt smaller and smaller in his presence.

"I have seen through many things with my byakugan... So I know, you are just acting strong. Deep down inside, you just want to run away from here."

"N-no! I really..." Hinata was silenced as Neji activated his byakugan. His presence only became more menacing as the difference in their abilities could be felt. Hinata trembled in fear, unable to keep eye contact, and began nibbling on her finger to try and distract herself.

"You can't fool my eyes." Neji spoke, forcing Hinata's attention to return to him. "Against my pressure just now, you floated your eyes to the upper left. This is a sign that you are remembering your past experiences... Your painful past. And after that, you looked to the lower right. That's a sign that you are imagining physical and mental pain. Basically... you are thinking about yourself. And from all the experience up until now, you are imagining the results of this match. Imagining that you'll lose!" he roared. "The action of raising your hands in front of your body as you are doing now, shows that you are trying to create a wall between us, create distance from me. That you are trying to prevent me from figuring out how you truly feel."

Hinata was sweating nervously, her finger trembling between her lips, and tears starting to form in her eyes.

Meanwhile in the stands, Naruto seethed in silent rage at what Neji was saying. Purposely demeaning and intimidating Hinata.

"Furthermore... Touching your lip is a personality trait revealing a disturbance. It's a defense mechanism to soften the nervousness and worry. So basically... In reality, you've realized it haven't you? That you cannot change your-"

"YES SHE CAN!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, interrupting Neji. "Stop deciding things about people! You damn idiot! You can kick that bastards ass Hinata! I know you can!"

 _'Naruto-kun...'_

"What people are isn't set in stone! We are born to evolve! With each passing second, we become better than the person we were a moment ago! So don't listen to his crap about people being unable to change! Stand up for yourself and prove him wrong!"

"God he's annoying..." Neji whispered as he glanced at Naruto. However when he looked back at Hinata, he was surprised to see her eyes harden. "Hmm, so you won't forfeit? I'm not responsible for what happens next."

Hinata brought a handsign up to her eyes as she activated her byakugan. "I refuse... to run away any longer!" she declared as she took up her fighting stance. "Neji-nii-san, we fight."

"Fine." he responded as he took up the same stance.

The two rushed forward and met each other in the center of the arena. Their hands moved in a flurry of blows and appeared as nothing more than blurs to the genin onlookers. The combatants struck at one another with palm strikes, but no one had landed a successful hit yet. This was but the opening salvo in a battle of beliefs. One who believed that people would remain the same. And the other who strived to better herself against the odds.

After a few moments of combat, Hinata finally managed to land a strike against Neji's chest and force him backwards. Having gotten first blood, and therefor control of the battle, Hinata continued to press her attack, refusing to allow Neji to recover. Should he gain control, she knew she wouldn't last long. After pulling off an offensive combo, Hinata attempted to end the battle with one final strike to Neji's solar plexus. She jabbed her hand forward, and to the onlookers, it seemed as if she landed a decisive blow.

"GO HINATA!" cheered Naruto.

"Wait! Something's wrong!" Sakura shouted.

True to her words, Hinata suddenly coughed up blood.

"So, this is it?" Neji asked with his palm against Hinata's chest. "This is the extent of the main houses strength? Pathetic."

"Hinata!" Naruto cried out in concern.

The girl back off for a moment and tried to counter attack. Her attempt was thwarted when Neji caught her arm and jabbed his finger into her elbow, damaging her chakra system with the Hyuuga's signature fighting ability. Holding her arm in place with one hand, Neji rolled up Hinata's sleeve to reveal various marks on her arm.

"No way... So from the beginning..."

"Exactly. My eyes can even see the 'opening points'." he responded. He had Hinata completely at his mercy, able to strike precisely at her chakra holes and disturb its flow throughout her body. He then threw her back, causing her to land on her butt. "Hinata-sama... This is the difference in talent that can never change. The difference that divides an elite from a loser." he said as he slowly approached Hinata.

The girl was having trouble getting up. Her breathing was ragged, sweat was pouring down her face, and now she was coughing up blood.

"This is the reality that cannot be changed. At the point you said 'I refuse to run away' you were setting yourself up for regret. You should be overcome with desperation right now. Now forfeit." he ordered.

Hinata slowly pushed herself up off the ground.

"You can do it Hinata!" screamed Naruto.

She spat out a bit of blood as she weakly stood up.

"Show him what you can do!"

She reached into her jacket, rummaging about for something.

"YOU CAN WIN!"

"I... don't go back... on my word..." Hinata spoke as she pulled out a scroll. "That is... also my ninja way..."

"And what is that supposed to be?" Neji asked as he pointed at the scroll she held.

"I really didn't want to use this... Sensei made me swear to only use it if it was absolutely necessary... Plus... it's kind of embarrassing..." she explained.

"Something you give her Kurenai?" Asuma asked his fellow jonin.

"No." she said in confusion. "I don't ever remember giving her a scroll like that."

"I hope you're ready... Neji-nii-san... I'm about to end this..." Hinata said as she threw the scroll upwards. "SHINOBI TRANSFORMATION!"

A blinding light erupted on Hinata's position, temporarily blinding everyone's view. When the light receded, all were shocked by what they saw. Hinata's appearance had drastically changed. She now wore light blue hakama pants, wooden sandals, a black form-fitting sleeveless top (which showed off what little curves she had. quite embarrassing if you asked her.), and pink arm warmers that terminated into fingerless gloves at her hands. Also, a pair of large pearl-like half-spheres were embedded on the back of her hands. Inside the spheres, one could faintly make out streaks of blue lightning. But the most notable thing to happen to Hinata, was not her change in outfit, but the fact that all of her wounds had healed.

"What?!"

"Just what is that?!"

"Some kind of jutsu?!"

"Impossible..." Naruto whispered. That was the same technique that he and Miyabi used.

Sakura shot a glance at Naruto, recognizing Hinata's jutsu as the same one he used. She was hoping he would know something about it, but he looked just as shocked as she was.

"What is this nonsense?" Neji asked. "Some form of genjutsu? Or is it a henge?"

"I'm sorry to say Neji-nii-san, but this is no such thing." Hinata answered as she took up a stance with one arm cocked back as if grasping at something and the other doing the same in front of her. "The time has come for me to end this battle." blue lightning crackled and arced between the two stones on the back of her hands, and eventually took on a form. It was a large spear of lightning. Hinata gave it a few experimental twirls before leveling the weapon at Neji. "Come... Neji-nii-san."

 **(-)**

 **A/N- So yeah, I said Miyabi _might_ be the only SK girl to show up. Who do you think Hinata's secret sensei is? Only I know right now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- First of all, Happy New Year!**

 **Secondly, here's the next chapter. I took some risks in this chapter so I might go back and revise it if they aren't well received.**

 **When it comes to base dialogue for the story, I draw it directly from the manga from an online source. So there might be some inconsistencies in my writing. Some jutsu's might be in Japanese and others in English, sometimes I use first names first and other times I use last names first, honorifics might be sparse, stuff like that.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **I'm probably forgetting something here, and it will most likely come back to bite me in the ass. :(**

 **Be sure to leave a review. I MEAN IT. Only one person has been giving me good reviews, but I need more than that in order to get a feel for how good the story is. I appreciate my loyal reviewer very much, as he gets exactly what I'm trying to do, but I need more input.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

Miyabi sat down at a quaint little restaurant, waiting for the food she ordered to arrive. In the meantime, she was sipping from her cup of tea. Putting the glass down, she took a moment to admire her surroundings. Konoha was a rather quiet town all things considered. And Miyabi quite liked it that way. However even she was able to notice the darkness stirring in the shadows. Something ominous was afoot, and she had a feeling that soon it would come to a head. That Orochimaru fellow was just the beginning, a prelude to the chaos that would soon consume the village. She would be damned if she didn't make sure Naruto wasn't prepared for what was coming. The boy was strong, that much was evident. But he still lacked refinement. As he was now, he was akin to a child armed with a machine gun. He had the power, but still needed the training to properly utilize it. This chunin exam would be the perfect test to see just where Naruto's current skill level was. Even if it was a farce in her opinion.

Miyabi scoffed at the idea of the exams. Who in their right mind invites potential enemies to see just what your forces are capable of? Say what you will about it being something akin to a deterrent, but at the same time it allowed for others to plan around what they witness. They really should have just kept it in the village instead of inviting others. It's almost like the ninjas of this world _want_ to show off for their opponents. Back where she's from, such things would be a closely guarded secret.

"A yen for your thoughts?" asked a voice.

Miyabi turned to see a familiar face. Short light grey hair with a pale blue ribbon tied in it, atop a rather cute face. Skin pale, but not as much as Miyabi's, and pale blue eyes.

"Yumi." the white-haired woman acknowledged.

"As concise as always I see." the Gessen student said as she took the seat opposite Miyabi.

"I already ordered for you." the white-haired girl spoke.

"Thank you for that." she said with a slight bow of the head. "So, how have things been?"

Miyabi let out a slight sigh. "Not entirely good I'm afraid."

"How so?"

"My identity has been compromised. At the very least, the Hokage is now aware of my presence."

"What happened?"

"There was trouble during the chunin exams second round. Someone known as Orochimaru had snuck into the Forest of Death and was up to something. Apparently he is a very strong rogue ninja. I thought he might have been after Naruto, but it turns out he wasn't. Still, I was able to discern that Naruto was involved at the very least. So it wasn't a total loss at the cost of my cover. That, and I got the witness to swear to only inform the Hokage." Miyabi explained.

"I see." Yumi responded with a pensive look. "For what it's worth, I doubt my cover will last any longer as well."

"What makes you say that?"

"My charge is rather weak. It's one of the reasons I chose to take her under my wing. There isn't a doubt in my mind that she'll be able to go without using her transformation much longer. And once that happens, she'll lead them right to me. She doesn't have the fortitude to withstand an interrogation."

Miyabi raised her glass before taking another sip from it. "My condolences."

"Yes. It would seem that our days as being simple citizens are coming to an end." Yumi mused. "I imagine that soon the Hokage will try to draft us into the towns forces."

"He can try." Miyabi responded curtly. "'A shinobi must remain in the shadows'. That is what Suzune-sensei taught us."

"As did my master, Kurokage. Our very nature is to be out of sight of the populace, never to allow them to be aware of our presence. It is quite concerning that in this world being a shinobi is an openly known occupation."

Miyabi nodded in understanding as their food arrived. "Despite how backwards it may all seem, our only option is to move forward."

"Take the next step and never look back."

"Don't allow what's in the past to define who you are."

"Cast away your regrets as they will only slow you down."

"Resolve to get stronger for the sake of those you hold dear."

"And live each day like it's your last."

The two women looked each other in the eye and spoke in unison. "That is my shinobi way."

 **(-)**

"Come... Neji-nii-san."

Neji glared at Hinata as she took her stance. "I'm not exactly sure what kind of nonsense this is." he said as he took up a fighting stance of his own. "But regardless of the trickery at play, you will still lose. The outcome of this match has long since been decided. You will lie at my feet in a disgraceful defeat!" he roared as he charged Hinata.

The Hyuuga heiress met Neji in the middle, swinging her spear of lightning downward at the prodigy. He dodged gracefully and attempted to strike at the heiresses tenketsu points, but she proved to be much faster now and was able to spin her body in order to dodge. Pivoting on her heel, Hinata swung her spear in a circle in an attack aimed at Neji's side. Bending backwards, Neji barely managed to dodge as the voltaic lance whizzed past his face. However as he got back up, he was struck in the chest by Hinata's palm which was charged with electricity.

The strike sent him flying back several meters before he landed on his feet. "What the hell is this?!" he roared. "You should have just stayed down, and yet here you are, standing against me still!" Neji attempted to take a step forward, but found himself having trouble doing so. His muscles were spasming and interrupting his fine motor skills.

"I assume you are now feeling the effects of my attack?" Hinata asked.

Neji's eyes widened in alarm. "That palm strike... It couldn't be?!"

"Yes Neji-nii-san. By combining my juken with lightning, I am able to target your nervous system and disrupt the signals sent from your brain to your muscles. I find that it is just as dangerous as striking the tenketsu points." Hinata explained.

"You damn cur! You are supposed to be writhing on the floor in defeat! Not acting smug like you are about to beat me!" Neji lashed out.

"Man, Neji doesn't look as cocky as he was before." remarked Choji.

"He's losing himself to anger now that things have taken a turn." spoke Shikamaru.

"Forget that, has Hinata always been this strong?" asked Ino.

Having shaken off his surprise, Naruto chose to start cheering for Hinata again. "Yeah! Go Hinata!"

Neji charged the heiress and unleashed a series of palm strikes in an attempt to seal her tenketsu points again. He was surprised to find that Hinata had sped up considerably and was able to dodge his attacks with ease. Each time he struck at her, she had avoided the attack with plenty of room to spare. However it became even more apparent that she was toying with him. She had plenty of time to counterattack yet she refused to do so. Every once in awhile she would swing her lightning spear at him, but she always gave him more than enough time to dodge.

"Argh! Enough of this nonsense!" the prodigy roared. "Aside from the fact that this increase in power is completely ridiculous and out of place, you are doing nothing but dodge! Take this seriously!"

"My apologies Neji-nii-san, but if I took this seriously then you'd be dead." Hinata responded.

"That is complete and utter garbage! You are nothing! You always will be nothing! This sudden boost in skill is nothing but a farce!" he shouted as he tried to appear as menacing as possible. "You are a failure as the clan heiress. Even your younger sister shows more potential than you. No matter what you do, you will never amount to anything more than trash. I will make you grovel and beg for forgiveness at my feet. Then and only then, will you finally understand your place in this world."

"You're wrong Neji-nii-san." Hinata said as she dispersed her spear. "The one who will be begging for forgiveness... is you."

Neji snapped. "YOU CUR!"

The two clashed once more, only this would be for the last time. Neji lashed out at Hinata with a series of strikes. He was unrelenting in his attack, refusing to allow for her to gain the upper hand. So long as he pressed his attack, she would be unable to land one of her own. He used every move in his arsenal in an attempt to just scratch the heiress, but it was to no avail. The girl was simply too fast. Her movements flowed like water, able to bend and twist around his every move. Neji knew in the back of his mind that as soon as he faltered, Hinata would end the fight. And that made him furious. The very fact that he even considered her a threat went against his beliefs. She was supposed to be weaker than him. She _was_ weaker than him. Anything more than that went against all logic. He _had_ to defeat her. He was destined to defeat her. She was the loser and he was the winner. That's just how the world was. He kept on repeating this mantra in his head as he attacked, hoping that if he believed it hard enough, that it would be so.

However eventually Neji tired and slipped up. His feet stumbled forward and he was left open.

"This is the end." he heard Hinata say.

The heiress unleashed a series of palm strikes to Neji's torso and arms. Each one charged with lightning which stunned his muscles. After a relentless pounding, Hinata finished her combo by bringing both her palms back and charged them with lightning. "Rakurai no dansu!" she shouted as she thrust both of her palms forward and struck at Neji's chest, ending her combo. The electric charge ripped straight through his body, charring his clothes and skin as it did so.

Neji stood tall for a moment before falling backwards in defeat. Voltaic bolts of energy danced across his unconscious body as the referee approached him. Leaning down to check his pulse, carefully given the electric charge, the man coughed into his hand before raising it. "Winner! Hinata Hyuuga!"

"Way to go Hinata!" cheered Naruto.

The rest of the onlookers however were mostly silent in shock. The girl they all saw as nothing more than a wallflower had just thrashed someone who was by all means stronger than her. Her own jonin sensei was the most surprised of all.

The girl in question made a handsign and, in a puff of smoke, was back to her normal appearance. Once the battle high was finally out of her system, she let out a sigh of relief that she had won. As the medic nin's took Neji away to be treated, Hinata headed back up into the stands where she was greeted by fanfare.

"Congratulations Hinata!"

"I didn't know you had it in you!"

"You really showed Neji."

However the heiress paid none of their praise any mind. Although it did feel good to win and validate her strength as well as be acknowledged by her classmates, there was only one person whose opinion she really cared about. And he was the one cheering for her the hardest.

"You did great Hinata!" Naruto said as he patted the girl on the back. "That jerk Neji never knew what hit him."

"T-thanks Naruto-kun." the shy girl responded. "I couldn't have done it without your support."

"Nonsense!" he said with a smile. "You did all the work. All I did was cheer you on."

"T-that's not true." Hinata muttered as she pressed her finger together. "I'm really weak. I wouldn't have lasted on my own. It was thanks to you that I won. You kept on cheering, making sure I didn't give up." she said as she gave Naruto a sweet smile.

The blonde blushed slightly and looked away at this. _'Damn, she really is cute after all.'_

 **(-)**

"The prelims have ended. Soon they will begin the finals." Kabuto informed Orochimaru.

"By the way... The village... It's become so serene... No... It's become accustomed to the peace. In a time when the other countries are busy strengthening their forces." mused the snake sannin.

"Could we take it now?" asked his apprentice.

"Well, yeah... Though as it is right now, I'm not sure there will be much enjoyment to be had in taking the head of that geezer."

"Is that so?" smirked Kabuto. "Because it seems to me, that you are still hesitant to act."

Orochimaru remained silent as his ward continued.

"From now on, the various hidden villages will fight against each other in a long and intense battle." he paused as he adjusted his glasses. "Hidden Sound is one of them. You intend to become the trigger for all of this." Kabuto turned to face his master. "And _he's_ the bullet for that purpose. Isn't he? Sasuke Uchiha-kun, was it?"

Orochimaru chuckled mirthfully. "You are so intuitive that it's scary."

"Not at all." Kabuto rebuked. "I didn't know about Dosu, Kin, and Zaku, after all. As part of my assignment to gather information on Sasuke-kun, I wanted to know the powers of the three sound nins. I intended to take on their attacks to gauge them, but that Naruto fellow defended me rather well. I didn't think he had it in him." he explained as he thought back to that encounter. "To not inform me of those three, it seems that I don't have your complete trust yet."

"Hmph, was there a necessity to tell you, my right hand man, about something as insignificant as those three? That is the proof of my trust."

Kabuto mulled over Orochimaru's reasoning as the man went on.

"And that's why, I may ask you to take care of Sasuke-kun for me. It would seem that the curse mark I planted on him was sealed up by Kakashi. Well, not that it will have any effect in the long run of course. So long as the _darkness_ in his heart remains, so will it..." Orochimaru looked up at Kabuto with a grin. "I want you to kidnap him right now."

"It's so unlike you to be so anxious." Kabuto noted.

"There was something that bothered me quite a bit." Orochimaru said as his hand drifted to his neck. Though the wound was gone now, he still remembered it.

"Naruto Uzumaki I take it?"

"Sasuke-kun lives for the sole purpose of killing his brother Itachi out of revenge. He's a child who will never die until he achieves his goal. But when he fought me in the forest... He came at me without fear of death even though he knew I was an opponent he could not defeat. I didn't think he was the type of child to rush to die like that." Orochimaru then pulled out one of Kabuto's nin-info cards. "According to your data, it looks as if his contact with the nine tails boy is changing Sasuke-kun's goals and heart. He's a child that has that much of an influence on Sasuke-kun. So the faster we tear them apart, the better." the snake sannin then let his tongue hang out as he licked his lips. "I must dye him in my colors soon."

"Still..." Kabuto started as he gained his masters attention. "Naruto had more than a few surprises in him. Did you happen to see his special jutsu?"

"That I did." the rogue ninja said with a slight scowl. "Little brat caught me off guard." however then a smirk made its way onto his face. "But still, to be able to use a jutsu that I am unfamiliar with, perhaps we should look into him some more. Especially his caretaker Miyabi."

"Miyabi?"

"I encountered her as I was making my escape. It seems that she is connected to the blonde in some way... And she has garnered my interest as well."

"Hoh? Just what has this mysterious kunoichi done to spark your curiosity?"

"For one, she looks like she could be my daughter." Orochimaru answered, which caused Kabuto to quirk a brow.

"You believe she may be related to you in some way?"

"Hmm, perhaps. It's not everyday that you see someone with pale-skin and snake-like eyes. Plus she was able to use a snake summons that I was unfamiliar with."

"A snake summons that even you don't know about? Curious indeed."

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes. However the most surprising thing about her, was her ability to use black flames."

"Black flames?" Kabuto repeated as he searched his brain for the corresponding knowledge. "Amaterasu?!"

"It would seem so. Yet she is not Uchiha and lacks the sharingan."

"So how is she able to use such a technique?"

"That, my dear apprentice, is something we shall find out in due time." Orochimaru answered as he developed a sinister smirk. "It matters not what the question is, I will always find the answer. And should she refuse to cooperate, then she will beg for mercy when I am done."

 **(-)**

"Well now, I'd like to start explaining the main test." spoke the Hokage as he addressed the winners of the prelims. "As I said earlier, in the main event, your matches will be seen by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your country. I'd like you to show of your powers with no reserves. Which is why we will be holding the finals one month from now."

"You mean we ain't doing it here and now?" asked Naruto.

"No. You can say that this break will be for preparations. I want you all to be at your very best, the peak condition you are capable of. In addition, this time will be utilized to arrange for the gathering of the event, as well as preparation time for you examination students." Hiruzen said as he took a puff from his pipe.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say!" shouted Kankuro. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." answered the elderly man. "Get to know the enemy and yourself. Calculate your chances of winning by analyzing the data you accumulated from the previous challenges. The battles up till now had you fighting as if you were in an actual combat situation with the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent. However the final trial will not be like this. There are those that have already shown all they can do to their rivals. There are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves. Of course, it would be fine to simply rest your body as well. Now you are all dismissed... Is what I'd like to say, but there is still one last thing that needs to be done before I can do that." the Hokage said as Anko stepped forward holding a box with a hole in the top. "There are pieces of paper inside of the box that Anko's holding. If you'd all take one, then we can move on."

After Anko went across the group, each person opened their paper to see what it said. They were all numbered.

"All right, you all took a piece. Now I'd like you to tell us the number on that paper in order, starting from the left."

Each person said their number as Ibiki wrote it down on a clipboard. "That would leave the absent Uchiha with 4."

"Yes." concurred the Hokage. "All right, now I will reveal to you all the final tournament setup!"

"Huh?!"

"That's what we drew numbers for?!"

"Ibiki, show them the match arrangements." the Hokage ordered.

"Yes sir." he responded as he flipped his clipboard around.

The first match would be Hinata versus Naruto. The second would be Gaara versus Sasuke. The third Kankuro versus Shino. And the last was Temari versus either Dosu or Shikamaru.

Hinata swallowed hard. _'I-I... Have to f-fight N-Naruto-kun?'_ she thought as she glanced at the target of her affections.

' _I have to fight Hinata?'_ Naruto thought worriedly. He had nothing against the girl. In fact, if anything he kind of liked her. She was one of the few to not bully or ostracize him. And now he had to fight her?

"Well then, you're free to start strategizing or resting as you like. With this, I'll dismiss you all, but are there any final questions?" asked the Hokage.

"Yeah." spoke Shikamaru. "Since it's a tournament, it would mean that there would only be one winner, right? Which would mean only one person could become chunin, doesn't it?"

"No. That's not quite it." answered the Hokage. "There will be judges, including myself, the Kazekage, lords of various countries that will make mission requests and other ninja leaders, who will be watching the final test. Throughout the tournament, these judges will be evaluating your abilities. And those who display the qualities of a chunin will be promoted. Even if you lose in the first match, so long as you make a good impression, you will get the chance to be promoted."

"Then that means, that everyone here has the chance to become a chunin?" asked Temari.

"Yes." the Hokage nodded. "But also, there is the possibility that no one will become a chunin. To advance in the tournament, means that you will have more chances to appeal to the judges. Understood?"

The gathered genin nodded.

"Well then, thanks for all the effort you exerted during these trials! You're all dismissed until a month from now!"

 **(-)**

As soon as all the formalities were over, Naruto rushed to the hospital to find Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. However being allowed entrance to the Uchiha's room was another matter entirely.

"Where's Sasuke's room?!"

"Sasuke-sama is not being allowed any visitors." answered the nurse behind the desk.

"What?! Why not?!"

"It's hard to explain but..." the nurse responded nervously. Fortunately for her, salvation had come.

"Naruto, be quiet inside the hospital." Kakashi scolded as he rounded the corner.

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto perked up. "How's Sasuke?"

"Hmm, still unconscious. But he should be better soon." answered the cyclops.

"Good! He better be in his best condition for when we inevitably fight in the finals!"

"Speaking of the finals..." Kakashi said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I hope you don't mind, but I won't be able to give you any personal training. All my attention has to go to getting Sasuke back up to speed."

"What do you mean? Is something wrong with him?"

"Just some minor chakra problems. He should be fine after a few weeks of physical therapy with me." the white-haired man lied.

"Oh. Okay. I guess I'll find someone else to train me."

"Not to worry Naruto." Kakashi said with an eye smile. "I found a teacher for you who is much more reliable than me."

"Like, who is it?" the blonde asked.

"It's me." came a curt voice.

Naruto turned and recognized the man behind him. It was Ebisu. "It's you! The closet pervert!"

"Ebisu-sensei's a... closet pervert?" asked Kakashi.

"You couldn't find someone better than him?!" roared Naruto. "Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel."

"You little ingrate!" shouted Ebisu.

"I can easily think of a better teacher than him!"

"Oh yeah? And who would that be?" asked the cyclops.

Naruto quickly covered his mouth before he let slip Miyabi's secret.

"No need to worry about the kid." came a new female voice.

The group turned to see a white haired woman walk into the hall, dragging an unconscious body behind her.

"Ah, Miyabi-san. Nice to see you again." greeted Kakashi.

"Likewise cyclops." the girl responded. "Now, instead of having a pathetic pervert teach my little house guest," started Miyabi, which elicited a 'hey!' from Ebisu. "How about have him learn from a powerful pervert?" she suggested as she threw the unconscious body she was carrying in front of her.

It was a man with long spiky white hair who was wearing a red vest. He had red marks painted beneath his eyes and wore a metal headband.

"Who the hell is this?" asked Naruto.

However Kakashi's visible eye widened in surprise at who Miyabi had captured.

"Hey! Wake up!" Miyabi shouted as she kicked the man in the side, causing him to wake.

"Dahh! Where am I?!" he screamed.

"In the hospital. Be grateful I didn't make you a patient." answered Miyabi.

"So, who is this guy?" asked Naruto again. "And why were you dragging him along?"

"Well..."

 **Earlier...**

Miyabi was enjoying a relaxing soak in the hot springs, letting the warm water and nutrients rejuvenate her body as well as preserve her youthful beauty. However her lovely bath was interrupted when she caught the sound of faint giggling and scribbling on paper. Moving faster than the eye could track, the white-haired woman shot up out of the water and charged the nearby wall. As soon as she was in arms reach, she punched straight through the wooden barrier and smashed her fist into the face of the voyeur. The man was completely caught off guard by the attack and tumbled several meters before coming to a stop with a bruised cheek.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted in rage.

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" responded Miyabi as she used one hand to cover her breasts and the other to conceal her crotch. "Who do you think you are, some kind of petty pervert who peeks on women in the hot springs?!"

"Nonsense!" the man yelled as he took a pose. "Perverts wish they could be like me! Don't you dare compare me to those lowly insects! For I am a super perv-!"

He was cut-off when Miyabi threw her hands to the side, exposing her beautiful naked body.

"GORGEOUS!" the man shouted as his eyes bulged and his nose bled. This was completely out of character for the few women who ever caught him. To cast aside their dignity, removing their appendages from covering their modesty... it was unheard of! Why was she exposing herself to him like this?! Had the man not been in his pervert state of mind, he would have realized the obvious trick. His first mistake was assuming that Miyabi was just a strong civilian who caught him peeping. His second mistake was getting enthralled by her body. So caught up in his fantasy was he, that he didn't notice the heel descending on his head until the last second. _'So the white hair is natural.'_ he thought as he was knocked unconscious.

Miyabi dragged the mans body out of sight and quickly returned to the locker room to get dressed. Once she was in her attire again, she returned to the unconscious man. Looking him over, she swore she knew him from somewhere.

"Wait a minute..." she said as she fished through her pocket and pulled out a notebook. Upon encountering Orochimaru earlier in the week, she decided to do some investigating on the man in the likely event they crossed paths again. He was known as one of the Sannin, one of the third Hokage's three disciples. The other two were known as Tsunade and Jiraiya. Looking at the most recent picture she could get of each of the Sannin, the man in front of her was a dead ringer for Jiraiya. "Well, looks like I caught myself a useful pervert."

 **Present...**

"And so that's how I came into possession of this pervert." Miyabi said as she finished her story.

"You... want me to be trained by this pervert?" Naruto asked. "I don't even know who he is!"

"The audacity of the youth these days." lamented the pervert. "I am the great Toad Sennin of Mt. Myoboku!" the man shouted as he summoned a toad which he stood upon and posed. "The name's Jiraiya! And don't you forget it!"

"And not to mention pervert." added Miyabi.

"HEY! I already said not to compare me to them! I am no pervert!" he huffed resolutely. "I am a super pervert!"

"That's even worse!" shouted Naruto. "Miyabi-nee-san, you can't seriously want me to be trained by this ero-sennin!"

"Ero-sennin?!"

"As a matter of fact I do." she answered. "He is one of the strongest shinobi around. One of the three Sannin who were trained by the third Hokage himself, alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru."

At the mention of Orochimaru, Naruto slightly tensed up. That was the name of the man who attacked his team in the Forest of Death. The blonde looked up at the pervert, now seeing him in a different light. Naruto sighed in defeat. "Very well. I'll study under this ero-sennin."

"What?! When did I ever say I was going to teach you?!" shouted Jiraiya. "I hate disrespectful and rude brats! And I hate men!"

"Too bad. You're teaching him." Miyabi said harshly.

"Oh yeah? And if I refuse?" asked the toad sage.

Miyabi reached into her back pocket and pulled out a book. Jiraiya's eyes widened in recognition of what the book was. The white-haired woman then pulled out a lighter and held it underneath the book. "Then all your 'research' goes up in flames."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Miyabi held the lighter closer to the book. "Try me." she said with a smug smirk. "Because I'm sure that the fans of you series would riot if the next book was late."

For some reason Kakashi paled at Miyabi's words.

"Series?" spoke Naruto. "He's a writer?"

"As a matter of fact yes." answered Miyabi. "He's the author of the 'Icha Icha' series."

"Truly the pervert to end all perverts." Naruto said sullenly.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Miyabi asked Jiraiya. "You gonna teach him, or do you want to start your research all over again?"

"Argh! Fine! Just don't do anything to the book!" he begged.

Miyabi put the book and lighter back away. "So glad that we could come to an understanding." she said as she walked off triumphantly.

Meanwhile Jiraiya was slumped over in defeat. "Just my luck..." he sobbed.

"So, ero-sennin, what are you going to teach me first?" asked Naruto.

The man grumbled something incoherent before he stood back up. "Well, first we need to find a proper training area."

 **(-)**

"So, Hinata." Yumi greeted as she met her pupil at her favorite bakery. The heiress was nervously nibbling on a cinnamon roll in the seat opposite her. "How did the exam go?"

Hinata's eyes shifted away from Yumi at the question.

"Come on now. I won't be mad at you if you had to use 'that'. All that matters to me is that you are safe and sound."

"... M-my apologies Yumi-sensei. I-I used the Shinobi Transformation." Hinata responded quietly.

"It is alright." Yumi said as she placed a comforting hand on Hinata's arm. "I'm sure you had your reasons for doing it. In hindsight, I fear it was too much of me to ask of you to keep my presence a secret." seeing as how Hinata wasn't responding, Yumi continued. "I'm sure I won't be in too much trouble with the village. So don't worry about me. I'm strong."

"Y-yes sensei..."

"Well, do you know who you'll be fighting in the finals?"

"... I-it's... N-Naruto-kun..."

"Oh. I see." Yumi said as she nodded her head in understanding. The girl had confided in her about her affections for the blonde some time ago. It would only make sense that she had certain qualms about fighting him. "I won't tell you that it is necessary to fight him, but if you just forfeit, it would look bad for you. Especially after you made it so far in the exam. And I'm sure Naruto is training hard right now, trying to prepare himself for his fight with you. So don't disappoint him. I'm sure once he sees how strong you've gotten, he'll notice you even more than before."

"Y-yes. I want him t-to acknowledge me. I want him to see how much I've grown. I want to look my best in front of him!" she said in something akin to a yell.

"And that you will. I will ensure you are as strong as possible when you go to face him. We can increase your training regimen." Yumi said as the waitress brought over her tea. In a flash, Yumi then grabbed the waitresses wrist as she pulled away. "So long as that is okay with you, Kurenai-san."

The waitress smirked before her appearance changed in a puff of smoke to reveal Kurenai Yuuhi. "It seems that you are sharper than I anticipated."

"The waitress we had had a mole under her left eye. You didn't. Was that intentional? A way to gauge me?" asked Yumi.

"Hmm, maybe." Kurenai responded. "It's just good to see my pupil is in such capable hands. Provided you have only good intentions for her."

"I assure you that all of my intentions are pure. I simply wish to aid a girl who is in need of help." Yumi said as she released her grip on Kurenai and turned to Hinata. "You have the potential to become something great. You aim to better yourself, and I shall ensure you do."

"T-thank you, Yumi-sensei." Hinata said before turning to Kurenai. "May I please train under Yumi-san in preparation for the finals?"

Kurenai shrugged. "I suppose so. But I will have to inform the Hokage of you." Kurenai said as she gazed at Yumi.

"Of course. It's only natural." the grey-haired girl nodded.

 **(-)**

"Hahh, so troublesome..." groaned Shikamaru as he made his way through the forest. He had absolutely no real intention to train for the finals. Such a thing was just a dull waste of time. But he knew that if he didn't he wouldn't hear the end of it, be it from his mother or his teammate Ino. All the women in his life were nothing but troublesome. And the worst part of the whole ordeal, was that he would have to fight two people in the first round. First Dosu and then Temari if he managed to win. Just his luck. Either way, the genius genin decided that in order to appease his teammates and family, he would go do some training. At first he was going to approach Asuma, the obvious choice, to train him. But he figured with it being the first day, he decided some rest and recovery was in order. So he headed for a quiet little clearing in the forest, away from all the hustle and butsle of the village, and decided to watch the clouds.

Laying down on the soft ground, looking up at the sky, Shikamaru felt at peace. No one was bothering him, no one was asking anything of him, he was away from all his responsibilities. Yep, it was perfect.

That lasted about a good ten minutes.

"What are you doing?" came a voice, female by the sound of it. But there was something empty about her tone.

"Hnn?" Shikamaru grunted as he sat up to see who was there. As he cast his gaze around, his eyes eventually landed on a shadowy figure along the treeline. Although he couldn't make out most of her features, he could tell it was a well endowed girl in her late teens. However the thing that stood out the most about her, was her snake-like yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. "Well, I was watching clouds before you came along."

"Why do you watch the clouds? Is there something in them that you are looking for?" asked the girl.

"No, nothing like that. It just makes me feel at peace." he responded as he lay back down.

"Watching clouds creates peace? How strange."

"It's not like watching the clouds ends wars." Shikamaru groaned. "It just sets ones mind at ease."

"Hmm..." he heard the girl hum in either understanding or confusion, he couldn't tell which. Shortly after he heard her footsteps approach him. However his eyes remained locked on the sky, trying to block out the girls presence. "I guess I'll try it too." she said as he heard her lay down next to him.

' _Great, now I got a partner for this. At least she seems quiet. So long as she doesn't disturb me.'_ thought the genin.

After a good hour of sitting in silence, Shikamaru was surprised to find that the girl was still with him. Thinking she might've fallen asleep, he sat up to check on her. Much to his surprise, she was still wide awake and watching the clouds roll by.

"Is this what being at ease feels like?" she asked.

"I don't know. Is that how you feel?"

"Unsure. I don't feel any different than normal. I have been watching the clouds float by for quite a while. Should I be feeling at ease yet?"

"How would I know? It's different for every person. You might not even get that kind of reaction from this."

"Hmm, so I might have just been wasting my time?"

Shikamaru facepalmed. "Sure. Let's go with that."

"I see." the girl said, or rather, stated. "Tell me, why are you out here?"

"I already said I came to watch the clouds."

"No. You said that you were here to watch clouds. You never said why you came here. Two different things."

Shikamaru was somewhat caught off guard by the girls reasoning. He had come out here to watch clouds, but that was to escape from training. So in a way, he hadn't said the reason for why he came out here. "Why do you care?"

"I'm told that this is a way to make polite conversation."

"I... guesss so." responded Shikamaru.

"So, why did you come out here to watch the clouds?"

Shikamaru let out a sigh. He might as well tell her. "I made it to the finals of the chunin exams. In one month I have to fight in a tournament with eight other genin. So until then I have to recover and train. I'm not a big fan of training, so I decided to come out here and rest as a way to escape it."

"Hmm, so you are putting off your training until another day." the girl surmised. "Do you intend to win the tournament?"

Shikamaru scratched his chin in thought. "I guess so. I mean, if I don't at least try then there are some people I'll never hear the end of it from."

"So you want to win, yet you don't want to train for your fights. Interesting."

"What's so interesting about it?"

"Your actions are in direct contrast to your goals. I don't understand."

Shikamaru let out a small chuckle. "I guess they are."

"How can one say they will do one thing, yet at the same time do another? It is so confusing."

"What's so hard to understand?" Shikamaru asked. "I want to train, but at the same time I don't want to. Part of me wants to, the other part doesn't."

"Is this what they call 'being lazy'?" the girl genuinely asked.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in aggravation. "Yes."

"I see... Do you want me to train you?" the girl suddenly asked.

"What?"

"I asked if you wanted me to train you. Did you have trouble understanding me? I can word it differently."

"No, that's not what I meant." Shikamaru said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're a ninja?" he asked.

"Yes." she answered simply.

"And you want to train me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The girl tilted her head to the side and looked up as she tried to think of a reason, her finger pressed against her cheek. Had her expression not been emotionless, she would have looked rather cute. "I don't know." she eventually answered. "You need someone to train you, I need something to do. Problems solved."

"Oookay." Shikamaru responded. The girl seemed pretty mellow. Scratch that, emotionless. So he figured she wouldn't be a real hardass of a sensei. All that was left was to determine if she had the skills to back up her offer. "So, what's your name?"

"Hikage."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Okay, chapter 6. Here we are. I tried to appease you reviewers with some stuff in this chapter. As you can see, things are starting to change. I hope this doesn't feel rushed or anything, and that I got all the necessary content out for this chapter. If it doesn't feel good enough, then I'll go back and try to add more.**

 **The next chapter will be the beginning of the chunin exam tournament, so this is all you'll see in terms of training, aside from any flashbacks in the next chapters.**

 **Don't you all worry, I have a plan for things to come and I can't wait for you to see it.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Be sure to leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

"Okay kid." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto arrived at the training spot. It was a somewhat secluded location in the forest next to several rivers. "Today, I'm gonna teach you a new technique." the man said as he promptly sat down and peered through the bushes in front of him, peeking at the women playing in the river on the other side.

Naruto nodded in response. "I see... TRY SAYING THAT WHILE FACING ME!" the blonde yelled indignantly. "Don't you remember what Miyabi-nee-chan will do to your book if you don't teach me?!"

The white-haired man paled slightly as he remembered just how he ended up in this predicament. "Tch, that demon woman is heartless." he muttered under his breath.

"I wouldn't bad mouth Miyabi-nee-san if I were you. She can have a nasty temper if she wants to. Plus she's really strong."

Jiraiya waved Naruto off dismissively. "Whatever. I've dealt with a woman who is much more threatening." he said as his thoughts drifted to a certain well endowed blonde. "But enough of that. I suppose I should start training you. First things first; I'm not sure if you are aware, but you have two different types of chakra in your body."

"Two different types? You mean my chakra and the Kyuubi's?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya quirked a brow. "You know of the demon?"

"Yeah. One of my old teachers who was a traitor let it slip. I'm well aware of the fact that the Nine Tailed fox is sealed inside me."

"Well, that makes things a bit easier. Today, we're going to work on trying to draw out its power."

" **Did he just call me 'It'?"** the fox growled.

"He doesn't like it when you call him an 'It'." Naruto spoke for his tenant.

"Uh... what?"

"The fox wants to be referred to at the very least like a person, rather than a thing."

"You... can speak with the fox?" Jiraiya asked, considerably surprised.

"Yeah. I made contact with him some time back and we worked out a deal. I agreed to help him kill the person who was controlling him, and in exchange he lets me draw from his chakra reserves." explained the blonde.

"Really?" Jiraiya spoke. He was pretty impressed that the boy was able to make contact with the fox and come to an agreement with him on his own. "Then that will speed things along. The technique I'm going to teach you requires much more than your normal amount of chakra, so it's good that you are able to utilize the Kyuubi's. The foxes chakra will become your greatest weapon. As such, it is important for you to learn how to properly wield it. Especially for the jutsu I'm about to teach you."

"That being?"

The white-haired man smirked. "The summoning jutsu."

"Summoning jutsu? But I already know how to summon." Naruto complained.

Jiraiya blinked. "You do?"

"Yeah. But I can only do it when I'm transformed."

"Transformed? What are you going on about?"

Naruto grinned as he pulled out his scroll. "This; Shinobi Transformation!"

As the light from his transformation died down, Jiraiya was able to get a look at Naruto's new appearance. "What the hell is that kid?"

"This is my Shinobi Transformation." he answered simply. "I can't tell you that much about it on account of the fact my sensei will probably be angry with me."

"Kakashi taught you this?"

Deciding to go with Jiraiya's misconception for the time being, seeing as how Kakashi was elsewhere with Sasuke, Naruto lied. "Yeah. Said it was a top secret type of jutsu."

"Hmm... I've never heard of or seen anything like this before." Jiraiya said as he scratched his chin in thought. "But I can tell from a glance that it is a powerful technique. So, show me what you can do."

"Well, as I said before, I can do summons while in this form." Naruto responded as he brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit it. Slamming his palm on the ground he then called out the technique. "Summoning Arts!"

There was a large puff of smoke, and when it cleared, it revealed several large foxes. Since there was no enemy to fight, they were all docile. But Jiraiya could tell that they were relatively strong summons for someone of Naruto's age.

"Impressive. Though I've never heard it being called 'Summoning Arts' before. Still, it will be good for you to know different summons so that you have variety. Now, dispel your summons and I'll teach you a new one."

Naruto did as instructed and his summoned foxes disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Now, watch closely." Jiraiya said as he bit his thumb, smeared the blood on his other palm, went through some handsigns, and slammed his hand on the ground. "Summoning jutsu!" there was a big puff of smoke as a large toad came into existence. It took the same pose as Jiraiya and held a large scroll in its tongue. The toad unraveled its tongue and handed the scroll to Naruto. "This is the contract with the toads that has been passed down through many generations. You write your name in blood, then you press your fingerprint in blood beneath it."

"Got it." Naruto responded as he opened the scroll and bit his thumb. Writing his name in blood, he listened as Jiraiya continued.

"You already know the process to initiate the summon, but the handsigns for the toad summon are; boar, dog, bird, monkey, sheep."

"Alright, that's it!" Naruto said as he finished the contract.

"Good. Now use the Kyuubi's chakra to do the summoning."

"Alright! Summoning jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his palm into the ground.

Once the smoke from the summoning cleared, it revealed a slightly large than normal toad that was orange in color with purple markings that wore a blue vest. "Yo!"

Naruto facefaulted at his pathetic summons.

"Well, not too bad for your first attempt at a summons like this." spoke Jiraiya. "It could've been worse. You could have summoned a tadpole."

"I guess you're right." Naruto lamented, before turning his attention to the small toad. "So, who are you?"

"The name's Gamakichi." answered the diminutive toad. "Now tell me, why have you summoned me? I ain't got time to be playing around with kiddies. Unless of course you have a treat for me?"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "You got some awful nerve for a pint-sized frog."

"Hey! Don't you dare compare me to those amphibians! I'm a toad damn it!" Gamakichi rebuked.

"Now, now, settle down you two." Jiraiya spoke.

"Yo, Jiraiya, my man! How's it going?" Gamakichi greeted once he noticed the sennin. "You got some treats for me? I'm starving."

The white-haired man chuckled mirthfully. "Sorry, not this time. I'm just teaching this kid how to do the toad summons."

"Oh, well considering he summoned me, he must have no talent whatsoever."

"Why I ought to-!"

"Calm down Naruto." the sennin admonished. "We can try again for something better in a little while."

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Naruto nodded in agreement. "Whatever you say ero-sennin."

"Ero-sennin!" exclaimed Gamakichi as he looked at Jiraiya, his cheeks puffed up as he held back his laughter. Unsuccessfully one might add. "That's the perfect nickname for you!"

"Grr, quiet you." grumbled Jiraiya.

The toad shrugged before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"So, are you gonna teach me anything else?" asked Naruto.

"Well, since you seem to have summoning down, and you have this powerful transformation technique, I suppose I could try to teach you something a little more advanced. But I'm only even suggesting this because I thought summoning would take us the entire month. Seeing as how we have the time now, I feel like you have the potential to learn it."

"Okay. And what technique would that be?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya held out his palm and a sphere of rapidly spinning blue energy formed in it. "The Rasengan."

 **(-)**

Standing in a clearing in the forest stood a rather beautiful girl. She had chin length green hair that clashed well with her yellow eyes. She was dressed in a tattered outfit that consisted of a yellow top that had black snake-like designs on it, and loose fitting jeans that had the zipper down. Attached to her arms and legs were numerous knife holsters. Her eyes slowly gazed about her surroundings, searching for her target.

"There." she said in monotone as she pulled out a knife and threw it at a bush. Just before it flew into the shrubbery, a figure lunged out of it and rolled across the ground.

"Damn." the boy groaned as he ran to cover. He had spent the past half hour playing a game of hide and seek with his new sensei as he tried to figure out an effective way of attacking her. As it turned out, Hikage was extremely nimble and was able to dodge his Shadow Possession jutsu with ease. Despite how many shadows he had to work with, the girl constantly managed to dodge his assault. After a while of trying to overwhelm her with shadows from the treeline, Shikamaru decided to make a tactical retreat in an attempt to draw Hikage closer to him. However the girl wasn't biting. She simply remained at a distance and chucked throwing knives at him. Hoping that he would be able to deplete her supply of knives, he continued to bait and dodged her throws. But it seemed as if the girl had a near endless supply of the blades. Shikamaru had taken note of how many knife holsters she had, and counted the number of knives she had thrown, but the numbers weren't adding up.

"You can dodge as long as you want. But I won't run out of knives." Hikage said, seemingly reading his mind.

' _She must have more sealed in scrolls on her person. That's the only logical explanation. When I'm not looking, she pulls out a scroll and unseals some more. It only looks like she has an infinite number.'_ thought the Nara genius. Ducking into some more bushes, Shikamaru did his best to evade Hikage's tracking.

"If you want to continue playing hide and seek, that's fine with me. But we need to start training seriously soon."

"You mean you're not being serious right now?!" shouted Shikamaru. A knife whizzed past his face, slicing open a small cut on his cheek.

Hikage was staring at him with the same empty look as always. "I am gauging you right now. My plan was to stop once you landed a hit on me, but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon."

Shikamaru let out a long sigh. "What a drag..." he said as he exited the bushes with his hands up in defeat. "I give up. Can we move on to the next portion of the training now?"

"Sure." Hikage nodded. "I'm going to teach you how to do a Shinobi Transformation next."

"Uh huh... And what exactly would that be?"

"You already saw it. My current appearance is the result of that jutsu."

"So it's kind of like a henge?"

"No. Henge simply changes appearance. Shinobi Transformation boosts power." Hikage said as she began to explain the finer points of the jutsu. "The transformation allows you to dawn a special outfit that provides you with a few advantages. The first is an increase to power and speed. It also allows you to perform unique jutsus and abilities. For example; my transformation provides me with an unlimited number of knives."

"That's impossible!"

"You would think so, but that is the power of a Shinobi Transformation. As for the last major advantage, you gain a massive boost in defense. The cloth that the outfit is formed from is weaved with chakra and a special type of ninja wire. It essentially creates a barrier across your entire body, allowing you to take fatal blows and only receive damage to your clothing." Hikage explained.

"That's... I don't even know what to say..." Shikamaru responded in a hushed tone.

"Of course, the 'armor' also focuses most of your chakra into defense. But as you lose it, you will become faster and stronger at the cost of defense. One can also willingly discard the 'armor' in what is called Frantic mode in order to gain a massive boost to your offensive capabilities."

"Sounds pretty dangerous. You have to sacrifice your defense for attack." Shikamaru mused.

"It is. Which is why it's all about timing. But enough of that for now. Next we shall meditate."

 **(-)**

In the main meeting hall of the Hyuuga compound, the elders and leaders of both the main and branch houses were meeting to discuss an issue about the clan. Hiashi had called this unscheduled meeting with the members of both houses. Hanabi was present also, sitting among the main house members. She took note of Neji's absence and wondered where he was.

Hinata was there too. She took note of how she was being looked at by the main house elders who would occasionally cast glances at her. They were the ones that hated her for being weak, shy, timid, and unable to grasp the art of Juuken. These were traits unbefitting of the clans heiress. Ever since birth, all she knew was contempt from most of the clan for her nature. She was worried just what would happen once it was announced that she defeated Neji, rather soundly, in battle.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the main doors to the hall opened to reveal Hiashi Hyuuga. As he slid the door closed, the hall fell into an eerie silence. He then made his way to the head of the hall and took his seat.

"Members of the main and branch house, I thank you for arriving at this meeting, despite how unexpected it is. I'm sure you are all wondering why this meeting was called. Just a few hours ago, a most important yet troubling matter was brought to my attention." the man spoke.

Hinata inwardly winced at his words.

"At first I thought the news hard to believe, but testimony from trusted eyewitnesses and proof left me with no grounds for argument."

"And what does this have to do with us I might ask?" one of the main house elders asked.

"By now, I'm sure you are all wondering about Neji's unexplained absence from this meeting." Hiashi stated.

Hinata knew where this was headed, but she did her best to remain her calmness.

"Did something befall the boy?" asked someone.

"Currently Neji has been hospitalized for severe external and internal injuries including burns, broken bones, and temporary nerve damage and paralysis. These injuries were inflicted to him by a member of this house." Hiashi stated. Everyone but Hinata were whispering and looking at each other while wondering who attacked Neji. Hiashi calmed the murmuring and continued. "Currently Neji is in stable condition but will remain at the hospital until he has made a recovery."

"Hiashi, none of us have seen Neji in days as he and Hinata were taking part in the chunin exams earlier. So, how is it that someone here attacked the boy?" another main house elder asked.

"I never said he was attacked in a manner of assault or aggression." Hiashi clarified. "I merely stated that Neji's condition was the result of the actions of a member of this house, the main house." the clan head then turned to his eldest daughter. "Hinata." he said calmly before sternly looking at her. "You care to explain to me and everyone here exactly what is going on?"

The bombshell was dropped as everyones eyes in the meeting hall widened in understanding. But before the girl could utter a word...

"Hiashi!" a main house elder shouted. "You expect us to believe that Hinata was able to defeat Neji to the point of him being hospitalized with the injuries you described?!"

"Hinata has never shown any signs of truly grasping our clan prized Juuken and even has trouble fighting against Hanabi who's even more adept in our style."

"How can it be possible that she was able to defeat such a prodigy?!"

"Well girl?!" demanded another elder.

"U-umm... well..." Hinata started weakly as she looked away and pressed her fingers together.

"It's because she has a great sensei." came a voice.

The Hyuuga clansmen looked around for the source of the voice and pinpointed it to being behind Hinata. Suddenly the air behind her started to shimmer and refract. Light reflected off a surface that wasn't originally visible until it shattered into fragments of ice. Standing where the ice had been was a girl in her late teens with gray hair tied with a blue and white bow. She wore an elegant solid white furisode kimono that hangs off her shoulders and exposes her cleavage. The outfit has a blue double-lined trim with a blue obi on the back.

Most of the Hyuuga became on guard at the womans sudden appearance and stood up.

"My apologies for intruding, but I feared for my students safety. I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to explain things properly." the woman said as she placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"Who are you?" growled one of the elders.

"My name is Yumi." she replied with a slight bow. "And I have spent the past while teaching Hinata how to fight. Forgive me if I seem to have caused any trouble."

Some of the Hyuuga members were ready to pounce at the woman, but Hiashi put a stop to it.

"Stand down!" he barked. The elders begrudgingly relented. "So, tell me Yumi, how long have you been here?" surely someone in the room had to have noticed her presence if she was simply lying in wait.

"I was here from the start. You might want to update your defenses." she said plainly.

"Impossible!" yelled an elder. "This is the Hyuuga clans most fortified location. There is no way you could have snuck in without detection. The girl must have smuggled you in!" he said as he pointed at Hinata.

The meek girl flinched at the mans declaration. And it seemed that others were starting to side with him.

"Far from it." responded Yumi. "I would never put my student in such a situation. I simply used some jutsus to evade your patrols."

"You used ice to reflect light and camouflage yourself." stated Hiashi.

Yumi let out a mirthful chuckle. "You catch on quick Hiashi-sama. Yes, that is how I was able to infiltrate your compound."

"But how did you hide your chakra signature from our byakugan?!" demanded an elder.

Yumi brought a finger up to her lips. "Sorry, but a girl is entitled to her secrets."

"Why you-!"

"Settle down!" ordered Hiashi. Once all was calm again, he returned his attention to Yumi. "Now, as you were saying earlier; you have been teaching my daughter?"

"Yes. I saw that she was in need of help, so I decided to provide it to her." Yumi answered.

"And why is that? Who exactly are you?"

"I simply wanted to help a girl in need. I don't need any other reason than that. As for who I am; I am simply a civilian of Konoha."

"That is total garbage!" shouted another elder. "There is no way someone of your skill is a civilian!"

"But it's true." responded Miyabi. "I am not registered as a ninja at all, for any village. On paper, I am but a civilian."

"And not on paper?" asked Hiashi.

Yumi smirked. "I am currently ranked as a tokujonin where I come from."

"So, my daughter is being trained by a specialist." mused Hiashi. "Tell me, where are you from then?"

"Suffice it to say it is far away. But you needn't worry about my allegiance. I am allied to Konoha for the foreseeable future. The only reason I didn't reveal myself as a ninja earlier, is because where I come from it is an occupation that is meant to be kept secret. 'A ninja that people know about is a failed ninja', that is what I was taught."

"Hmm..." Hiashi hummed as he furrowed his brow. "While I don't exactly agree with the way you went about it, I cannot argue that your teachings have been ineffective. My daughter is now much stronger than she has ever been. Now she can truly hold the title of clan heiress without any disagreement."

"What?!" cried one of the elders. "Hiashi, you can't seriously suggest that we just sweep this under the rug?!"

"That woman has undoubtedly been teaching _her_ a different style of fighting!"

"This goes against clan tradition!"

"Actually..." Yumi piped up. "I have done nothing to lead her astray from your clans technique. I simply helped her to improve it into her own style."

"How is that any different?!"

"Get this woman out of here!"

"Silence!" shouted Hiashi. The hall fell silent at his words. "This woman wishes to help Hinata become stronger. The results of her training with her are already noticeable in how she beat Neji. Clearly this womans methods of training are far more effective than ours have been for Hinata. As such, it is my decision as clan head to allow for her to continue her training under Yumi's supervision."

"This is an outrage!"

"You're overstepping your boundries Hiashi!"

"She is MY daughter!" yelled the man. "And if this is what's best for her, than I will not stop her from doing it! Before, she could barely handle sparring with Hanabi. Now she was able to overpower Neji. This was after what; a couple months of training with Yumi as compared to years of training with us? The way I see it, it would be best for the girl to remain in Yumi's tutelage. Just think of how strong she will be after a year of training with her."

The elder's grumbled their disagreements, but in the end they had to admit that Yumi's teachings were effective. The Hyuuga heiress was finally in possession of the power befitting her title.

However one elder was still willing to voice his complaints. "I refuse to allow this! This woman, this outsider, dares to break our tradition?! It is unacceptable!"

"So what do you propose?" asked Hiashi. "We send her away and let Hinata's skills dwindle as a result?"

"Grr!" the man pointed his finger at Yumi. "I challenge you to a fight!" he shouted, shocking the room. "If I defeat her, then that means that our technique is superior to whatever this woman can offer Hinata."

"Hmm, what do you say Yumi?" Hiashi asked.

"I suppose I can spare some time to prove my skills. Where shall we hold this fight?"

"The main dojo. Everyone, follow me."

After a short walk, everyone had arrived at the main dojo. It was a large room with tatami floors and various tools lining the walls. The challenging elder, some guy whose name wasn't even important enough to remember, stood on the opposite side of the room from Yumi. The onlookers took their seats along the walls while Hiashi himself stood in the center of the dojo to act as the referee.

"No killing is allowed in this match. The fight ends when the opponent either surrenders, is pinned, or knocked-out. Understood?" he asked.

The two combatants nodded in understanding.

"Weapons are allowed, but jutsus must not cause collateral damage. Ready? BEGIN!" he shouted as he swung his arm down and dashed out of the way.

The elder started by rushing forward and striking at Yumi with a palm strike aimed at her head. The girl deftly dodged it before spinning on her heel and kicking at the elder. He jumped backwards and out of her range to recover. Yumi then reached in between her breasts, much to the male onlookers pleasure, and pulled out a hand fan. Snapping it open, it was revealed to be a bladed fan.

"If you wish to arm yourself, now would be the time." spoke Yumi.

"Bah! Jyuuken is all I need to defeat you." the man arrogantly responded. Only to be shocked when Yumi appeared right in front of him in a burst of speed, slashing at his chest. He leaned back just in time as his shirt was cut open and a shallow cut was made along his abdomen.

"You were saying?"

"Grr, take this!" the elder shouted as he unleashed his full might against Yumi. He targeted her tenketsu points, trying his best to cut-off her chakra coils. But the girl was moving too fast for him to get any easy strikes. It was almost as if she was dancing around him, playing him for the fool. Finally he managed to get a lucky strike against her. His palm slammed into Yumi's chest and she staggered backwards.

"Got you!" he wasn't about to let an opening go unpunished. "Gentle Fist style; 64 hands of hakke." he rushed forward and struck at Yumi. "2 hands!" and again. "4 hands!" and again. "8 hands!"

Hinata watched in worry as her sensei took every blow from the onslaught without resistance.

"16 hands!" the elder stuck at her tenketsu points with his finger jabs. "32 hands!" and the last. "64 hands!" he shouted as he ended the combo.

Yumi slid backwards, her head hanging down, but her body still standing.

"It's over." stated the elder as he turned away.

"... What is?" came Yumi's voice.

The elder spun around, and to his surprise, Yumi was still conscious. Suddenly the girls kimono seemed to explode into fragments of cloth, leaving her in her underwear. The prudish and polite Hyuuga clansman looked away at the display, but they were also confused. Why had hers clothes exploded?

"W-what?!" shouted the elder in horror. "What is this?!"

Yumi's chakra was far from sealed as the man assumed. In fact, all of her tenketsu points were now flaring with the stuff.

"I decided to hold back in order to test a theory. And now that it is confirmed, I shall end this." she said coldly. Yumi raised her head, a look of determination on her face. She whipped her fan in front of her and kicked up a gale of frosty wind and snow. The wind slammed into the Hyuuga elder, its frosty bite draining him of heat and strength. The girl then began to dance her way forward. It was an elegant performance. One which would have been beautiful if she was still wearing her kimono, but was in actuality sexy given that she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties. But as she danced forward, the wind became stronger and more and more ice was mixed into it. The ice and snow buffeted the elder as he did his best to avoid or deflect it, but it was simply too much. The unrelenting onslaught continued until Yumi was right on top of the man. "Sink into the dreams of sleeping souls." and with that, she swung her fan at the elders face, a large chunk of ice manifesting itself and slamming into the side of his head.

The elder tumbled to the ground and groaned as he tried to get up, only to find ice spreading across his legs and freezing him to the ground.

"Do you yield?" asked Yumi as she aimed her fan at him.

"I-I surrender." he stuttered as he shivered.

Yumi smiled warmly as she snapped her fan closed and walked away from the man. Her movements were filled with grace and complete ignorance of her state of dress. She strode over to Hiashi, who was having trouble looking directly at her, and spoke. "I shall pick up Hinata tomorrow morning for training. Now I must leave." she said as she made a handsign and her appearance reverted back to her street clothes. Exiting through the main doors, she left the speechless Hyuuga's to make their own assumptions about her.

"... What the hell?" uttered Hiashi.

 **(-)**

"Hokage-sama." Anko said as she entered the room.

Hiruzen was currently sitting on a couch in the Hokage tower, looking at the picture of the Fourth Hokage as he pondered his current predicament. "Anko..." he said in acknowledgement.

"I apologize... I..." Anko started.

"You're angry that you came back from the Forest of Death alive?" Hiruzen didn't even need to turn to see the somber look on her face. Letting out a sigh, he continued. "Don't worry about it. There is no longer anything between Orochimaru and you. I know you are loyal to us." he said as he leaned his head up to look at the Fourth's picture. "A shinobi that can stand up to him now, doesn't exist in the Leaf. That's most likely... including me."

"If the Fourth were still alive..."

"Don't say that." Hiruzen interrupted. "He has already died to save this village. That was 13 years ago. He is no longer here." he said as he stood up. "So we must rely on our own powers."

"Yes sir."

"I'm going to get some fresh air." he said as he put on his hat and headed for the door. "Don't blame yourself."

Anko couldn't help but still feel dejected from her failure, despite what the Hokage had said. "Well, might as well try to cheer myself up. Time for some dango." she said as she left and headed to one of her favorite spots. It was a somewhat small restaurant, but it was a nice find as they had good dango. Sitting down and placing her order, she picked up a newspaper and began reading it to see if there was anything interesting going on. It was mostly about the chunin exams.

Shortly after, she heard her waitress return with her drink. "Oh, you didn't tell me you had a friend with you." spoke the waitress.

' _Friend?'_ Anko thought as she set down her newspaper. Only to be surprised by the person sitting across from her. It was a familiar woman with white hair.

"Yeah, she can be a bit forgetful at times." Miyabi said. "I hope this isn't a problem."

"Not at all." responded the waitress. "I just need to get you another menu." she said as she left.

Meanwhile Anko was still trying to process what was happening. She was able to notice the waitress approach, but not Miyabi? _'This girl is good.'_

"So, how have things been for you since that snake bite?" asked Miyabi.

Anko immediately knew what she was talking about. "Fine. I got the doctor to patch me up. Wasn't anything too serious. But I'm still gonna kill that snake."

"The way I saw it, the snake looked ready to swallow you whole. It's a good thing I scared it off." responded Miyabi.

"Which is all you managed to do. Why didn't you just kill it for me?"

Miyabi shrugged. "It was an unfamiliar snake. I didn't know whether or not it was poisonous."

"So you didn't know what it could do?"

"No. But now that I've done my research, I'm sure I can handle it next time."

"You'd be surprised. They say that they get smarter every time they survive a fight."

Miyabi held up her index finger and let a small black flame manifest at its tip. "Then I'll just have to get creative."

Anko nodded. "Good luck with that." she responded as she took a sip from her beer. "By the way, I was wondering what's the occasion for this sudden meet up? I thought I said I would keep you a secret in order to surprise everyone about your return."

"Yeah well, I was getting impatient." answered Miyabi as she leaned back in her chair. "It's been a while since I last saw you, and I was worried you might've forgotten about me."

"In other words, you wanted to meet my old man?" Anko offered as bait.

Miyabi smirked. "You could say that. The chunin exams final tournament is coming up and I assume he'll be too busy to meet with me during it."

"You aren't wrong." answered Anko. "Tell you what; after this, I'll take you to see him. That okay?"

"Sure. I don't have any other plans today. But there are some I want to make with him."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- Here is chapter 7, I hope you like it. Things are starting to change here and I hope you like the direction in which this is going.**

 **I have decided to start doing Omake's at the end of each chapter now. They will mainly be humorous and filled with the nudity that you expect of Senran Kagura. Not all will be canonical as some will be alternate situations. If you have an idea for one, be sure to leave your idea in your review and I'll try to add it. You can request whichever character you want in any situation in any place.**

 **I have also chosen to add an index of the Shinobi Arts at the bottom of the chapter. I will only list them once from here on out, so pay attention. II will not however list the SK girls Shinobi Arts unless it is a new one of my creation.**

 **Other than that, I hope you like the chapter and be sure to leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

It had finally arrived. The day of the chunin exam finals. The arena was filled to the brim with both civilians and nobles who wanted to watch the fights. The air was positively electric with excitement. The genin that were facing off today were the best of the best, and they were going to give it their all in order to earn the title of chunin.

The crowd roared as the prospective genin made their way onto the field, being led by the referee. There were 7 in total; Shino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Hinata, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, going from right to left.

However both Naruto and Shikamaru were looking around in confusion. Neither Dosu, who was Shikamaru's opponent, nor Sasuke, who was Naruto's teammate were there.

"Hey. Stop looking around." scolded the ref. "Face the customers. In this main tournament, you guys are the stars."

Naruto sent one last brief look at Hinata, who looked rather nervous. When their eyes met, Naruto shot her a thumbs up and a toothy smile. The girl smiled back and seemed to calm down as a result.

"Everyone! Thank you all for coming to the hidden Leaf chunin selection exam!" bellowed the Hokage. "We will now start the main tournament matches between the 8 participants who made it through the preliminaries! Please stay and watch until the end!"

Meanwhile, in the field the ref turned to face the genin and pulled out a sheet of paper. "There's something I'd like to tell you all before the matches. Look at this." he said as he held up the paper. It was the tournament bracket. There were a few shocks seen amongst the genin. "There have been a few minor changes to the tournament. Check once again to see who you're fighting."

' _I had an extra first round match. But now I don't. Did that Dosu guy forfeit? Whatever, it just means one less annoying fight for me.'_ thought Shikamaru.

"Hey!" Naruto called out.

"What?" asked the ref.

"Sasuke isn't here yet, what are you gonna do?"

"If he doesn't arrive by the time of his match he will receive a default loss." the ref said with a wave.

' _This is strange. Given his personality, he'd make sure he was here even if it meant dragging his own body.'_ thought Naruto.

"Alright guys, this is the final test. The arena may be different but the rules are the same as in the prelims. Meaning there are none." explained the ref. "You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine if the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it. You got that? So try not to kill me if that happens." he chuckled. "Now, the first fight between Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga. Those two stay here whilst the rest of you go to the waiting room."

 **In the stands...**

"What do you think will happen?" Ino asked Sakura.

"I have a feeling that Hinata will lose. We both know how much she's enamored with Naruto. I don't think she has it in her to hurt him." answered Sakura.

"Yeah, but at the same time, Naruto has no quarrel with Hinata. That might make him pull his punches."

"Hmmpf, the way I see it, Hinata is loads stronger than Naruto." Kiba spoke up. "She was able to beat Neji, and he was definitely stronger than Naruto."

 **In the field...**

Naruto and Hinata stood apart from one another with the ref in the center. Hinata was still looking a little nervous and Naruto could tell.

"Hinata." he called out, giving the girl a start.

"Hmm!?"

"Don't you dare surrender." he said, shocking the girl. "Even if I have to fight a friend, I will not pull my punches. I expect the same from you."

Hinata nodded resolutely. "Of course Naruto-kun. I wouldn't even think of surrendering now. There is someone here that I want to acknowledge me. And I cannot afford to look bad in front of him!"

Naruto grinned. "Well said. I recognize your resolve and will respond in kind."

"Now, the first fight! BEGIN!" shouted the ref as he swung his arm down.

Hinata immediately surged forward and attacked at Naruto with her juuken. she was still not well-versed in its use, but this was but the opening salvo. It was no surprise to her that Naruto managed to dodge the majority of her attacks, only letting her palms graze him at most. As Hinata went in for a palm strike, Naruto batted her hand aside before punching her in the chest, staggering her a few feet back.

"I guess you get first blood Naruto-kun." spoke the heiress.

"Looks that way." he responded. "But that doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. The first blow may be the most important, but it's the last blow that matters."

Hinata nodded. "Agreed."

"Time for me to take it up a notch." Naruto said as he made a familiar handsign. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" a dozen Naruto's poofed into existence behind the original. "Charge!"

The clones did as ordered and rushed Hinata, trying to overwhelm her with sheer numbers.

"I suppose I should get a bit serious as well." Hinata spoke. "Byakugan!" she shouted as she finally activated her clans bloodline. As the clones descended upon her, Hinata weaved in between their strikes with grace and beauty. Though they outnumbered her, the clones were unable to land a single hit. Then she retaliated. The next clone that came at her was sent flying with a double palm strike which dispelled it. The next attempted to attack her from behind, but she spun around and slammed her foot into its side. Two more flanked her on both sides. They both received palm strikes to their solar plexus and became smoke. One by one the clones were dealt with using ruthless efficiency. Once they were all gone however, Hinata turned to see that Naruto had disappeared. "Where-"

The girl was cut-off as the ground beneath her exploded upwards. Naruto had tunneled underground and delivered an uppercut to the heiress' chin.

At least, that's what it looked like.

At the last second Hinata bent backwards and avoided Nauto's fist. She then countered by slamming her palms into Naruto's chest.

The boy tumbled through the air a couple times before landing on his feet. "That was a good dodge." he said.

"And an excellent surprise attack." Hinata replied.

"Well, I think I've had enough warming up." Naruto said as he pulled his scroll out of his jacket. "You ready to get serious?"

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata said in a hushed tone. "You have one as well?"

"Yep." he answered with a grin. "I was pretty surprised when I saw that you had one as well. I guess Miyabi-nee-chan had a friend in town."

"I see..." Hinata spoke as she pulled out her scroll as well. "So that's how you became so strong. I won't fault you for using it now. Neither of us would be able to stand against the other if they were using it."

"Agreed. So it's only fair that we both go all out." Naruto said as he threw the scroll upwards.

Hinata did the same.

"SHINOBI TRANSFORMATION!" they shouted in unison.

A bright light blinded all of the audience and when it faded they saw both combatants were now wearing different outfits.

 **In the stands...**

"Whoa! Naruto knows that jutsu too?!" shouted Ino.

"I guess Hinata wasn't the only one to get special training." mused Kiba.

"Still, the battle could go either way. With this, they must be near each other in terms of strength." spoke Sakura.

Shikamaru along with the rest of the genin participants looked on in surprise.

"Great." groaned the Nara. "I have a bad feeling that I'll inevitably have to fight one of them."

Shino remained silent, and the three Suna watched with a critical gaze.

Meanwhile up in the top of the stadium where the Kage's were, Hiruzen let out a slight 'hoh' of interest while the Kazekage had a brief flash of worry that went unnoticed.

 **In the arena...**

"Ready for round 2?" Naruto asked as he took a stance.

Hinata responded by taken her own stance as well. "Whenever you are."

Both combatants rushed forward with previously unseen speed and began exchanging blows at a lightning fast pace. Strike were deflected, parried, and blocked, but none hit home. Naruto chopped at Hinata's neck. She ducked underneath and tried to trip Naruto with a low kick. The boy jumped over it before clasping his hands together and bringing them down on Hinata's head. She caught them with a cross-block and held them in place. Eventually the hold weakened and she was forced to swing outward, causing the two of them to separate.

Standing several meters away from one another, neither looked winded in the least even after such a brutal exchange.

They then clashed again before separating once more. Then again. And again. The duo moved at speeds that would more likely be seen by a jonin rather than a genin, brief glimpses of them in postures of combat as they flitted about the arena. To the trained eye, one could see every moment of their clashes, but the less inclined only saw blurs in between the brief pauses.

Naruto flew through a series of handsigns. "Buredo no Arashi!" he shouted as he swiped his arm in front of him multiple times. Blades of wind shot forward, tearing up the ground as if it was clawed at by a massive beast on their way to Hinata. The blades slammed into Hinata and sent her flying. But much to the surprise of everyone, the only signs of damage were her shredded sleeves.

"My turn!" Hinata shouted as she clapped her hands together and spread them apart, a spear of lightning forming between her palms. Holding the spear in her hand, she arched backwards and threw the spear into the sky. Once it reached the apex of it ascent, Hinata made a handsign. "Scatter! Inazuma no arashi!"

The spear exploded in a brilliant light in the sky. Moments later, dozens upon dozens of lightning spears rained down on the arena, all aimed at Naruto.

"Shit!" the blonde cursed as he made the Kage Bunshin handsign. Multiple clones popped into existence. Naruto was attempting to use his clones like a shield in order to block the spears, but there were just far too many. eventually the clones were all destroyed and the spears struck Naruto, creating small electrical explosions. The genin flew across the field and slammed into the arena wall as he came to a stop. His jacket was obliterated as a result, leaving only his mesh shirt and bandages on his forearms to cover his upper body.

 **In the stands...**

"This can't be chunin level fighting. This is jonin level at the least." said one of the chunin audience members.

"No kidding." replied another. "What the hell are they teaching the kids these days?"

Meanwhile the white-haired woman sitting nearby had developed a small grin on her face as she watched the fight.

 **With the Kage...**

Hiruzen watched the fight with interest. There was no doubt in his mind that both Naruto and Hinata would be promoted to chunin. Hell, given their performance it would make more sense for them to be sent straight to jonin. But of course there were procedures that needed to be followed. The aged Hokage turned to his side to face the Kazekage. "Quite the battle, don't you think?"

The Kazekage nodded. "Indeed. Both of the combatants are rather proficient fighters for being genin. Makes me wonder just what kind of curriculum is being taught at your academy."

Hiruzen chuckled mirthfully. "Well we both know that I can't divulge any of that information to you. So you'll just have to make your own hypothesis."

"Of course." the Kazekage said as he returned his gaze to the fight. _'The boy has made some progress since we last met. But still, he is no real threat to my plans. If everything goes according to plan, Gaara will prove to be enough of a distraction. That only leaves Miyabi.'_ he thought as his gaze briefly drifted to the white-haired woman in the stands. _'Although I would prefer to have her alive, I can still dredge up some secrets from her body if taking her alive isn't possible.'_

 **In the arena...**

Hinata wasn't going to lose momentum and proceeded to bite down on her thumb before making several handsigns. "Summoning Arts!" she shouted as her palm slammed into the ground.

With a large puff of smoke, several dozen hummingbirds appeared, each one crackling with electricity. The avian swarm flew forward at Hinata's command and targeted Naruto. The boy threw himself out of the way as the birds converged on his position. Gathering some crimson wind in his hand, Naruto threw it at the swarm, which exploded and sent half of the birds careening into the ground.

However Hinata had already summoned more birds to replace the fallen and they were heading straight for Naruto again.

Naruto flew through handsigns and aimed his next jutsu at Hinata. "Buredo no Arashi!" he shouted as he swung his arms at the girl, whipping up blades of wind.

But just before they impacted Hinata, the swarm of hummingbirds flew in front of her to form a shield. The birds took the attack head on, leaving Hinata unharmed.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" shouted Naruto as he made clones of himself. Each clone pulled out a handful of shuriken as they scattered and surrounded Hinata. "Take this! Harikengeiru!" the clones shouted as they spun their bodies, whipping up a powerful wind. The wind that was created by each clone combined with the others and formed a weak tornado that was centered on Hinata. "Now this!" they shouted as they threw their shuriken into the storm.

The blades were carried about by the tornado and sliced throughthe air, quickly making their way to the center where Hinata was. A few blades began to nick Hinata and damaged her clothes some more, but she had yet to take any direct damage. However she was still concerned about the possibility of ending up naked in front of all the spectators. As such, she needed to stop the storm. Hinata clenched her fists and held them next to each other by her waist, almost as if she was preparing to draw a sword from its sheath. Then, in one fluid movement, she swung her hand outwards. "Juretsu: Ikazuchi no tsurugi!"

A sword of lightning cut through the storm, reducing it to a simple breeze and causing all of the shuriken to fall to the ground.

"Seems like you're really into this Hinata." Naruto called out. "You must really want to impress whoever it is you're fighting for."

Hinata nodded. "Yes. I want him to acknowledge my strength. And this is the only way to do that."

Naruto grinned in approval. "Well, I don't know about him, but you sure have impressed me."

"R-really?" Hinata spoke, going back to her stutter.

"Yep! And as such, it only seems fair that I give this battle my all." he said as he took a pose. "Frantic Mode: First Release!" he shouted. Moments later his shirt and arm wrappings were ripped apart and his chakra levels went up. This also revealed his surprisingly muscular upper body that he had developed during his training with Miyabi. "Alright Hinata, let's do this!"

Unfortunately for Naruto though, this was where the battle ended. For as soon as Hinata caught a glimpse of Naruto's chiseled form, she passed out with a massive blush on her face. As her body hit the ground, Naruto cautiously walked over to check on her. "Hinata?" he called out as he waved a hand in front of her face.

The ref soon went over to join Naruto and check up on the poor girl. "Yep, she's out like a light." he said before raising his arm. "Winner! Naruto Uzumaki!"

Moments later, the entire arena was filled with the cheers of the spectators. Everyone was cheering and clapping for the blonde ninja who had just one an incredible match.

"That was incredible!"

"That was great!"

"Amazing fight kid!"

Naruto chuckled as he stood up and made the 'victory' sign with his fingers. "Believe it!" he then turned his gaze back to Hinata who was starting to stir.

"Huh? What happened?" she asked.

"You passed out." answered the ref. "I guess you were pushing yourself too hard."

The girl blushed as she remembered the real reason she passed out. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"That was a great fight Hinata!" spoke Naruto as he held out his hand to help the girl up.

"T-thank you." she replied as she took his hand. "I enjoyed it as well."

 **In the stands...**

"Aww man!" groaned Shikamaru. "I'm really not looking forward to the upcoming fights. Especially if I have to fight him."

"Worried you might lose?" asked Shino.

"I don't care about whether or not I might lose, I just know that I'll have to go all out to fight him."

"You going all out? I didn't think such a thing was possible."

"Ah shut it." grumbled the Nara. "Besides, if I didn't at least try then my sensei would probably kick my ass considering how much training we did."

 **With the Kage...**

"Ha, ha, ha... They're quite restless, aren't they?" spoke the Kazekage.

"Indeed." concurred the Hokage. "It was a fantastic match after all. It's only natural for the crowd to be so wound up."

"Well, I'm sure that's part of the reason, but I'm willing to bet it's really because of the next match." the Kazekage responded. "For the experienced lords and shinobi leaders, there isn't a match that they'd enjoy more. A battle involving the last Uchiha. Speaking of which, where is he?"

Hiruzen turned his head slightly to the Leaf ninja who had approached his side. "What?" he asked quietly.

"We still can't find him." the ninja whispered. "And we still have Orochimaru to deal with, so before everyone starts to make a big fuss, we should probably disqualify him."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes in thought. The proper thing to do would be to disqualify Sasuke. That is the rule after all.

"What's going on?! Hurry up and start the next match!" demanded one of the lords.

"How long are you going to keep us waiting?!" shouted another.

The crowd was already getting restless. They were on a high from watching the last battle and now they wanted more.

 **In the stands...**

"What the heck is that guy doing? Is he planning no to come?" asked Shikamaru.

"Confucius said 'The wise do not approach the dangerous'. A wise decision perhaps?" suggested Shino.

"If the teme doesn't show up then he's getting disqualified. And if that happens I'm gonna be pissed." grumbled Naruto.

"Concerned for your teammate?" asked Shikamaru.

"Hell no!" Naruto rebuffed. "It's just that I'm looking forward to kicking his ass when we inevitably have to fight each other. If he doesn't hold up his end of the deal then I'm gonna kick his ass."

"Then what's the point of...?" Shikamaru trailed off. "Whatever."

"I don't care how special he feels, he can't just dick around and show up late. No way in hell that they'll wait for him to arrive." the blonde seethed.

 **With the Kage...**

Hiruzen sighed. "We have no choice. As the rules state... Sasuke will be disqualified."

"Hokage-dono." the Kazekage called out. "Please wait a little while longer before making a decision."

"I beg your pardon Kazekage-dono, but anyone who takes punctuality lightly doesn't have what it takes to be a chunin, no matter how skilled they are." one of the Leaf ninja spoke up. "Unless there is a good enough reason to convince the lords and shinobi leaders to wait, then we should go on without him."

The Kazekage let out a resigned sigh. "I see. If that's the case, then there is a more than satisfactory reason." he spoke, causing Hiruzen to raise a brow. "The majority of the shinobi leaders and lords, myself included, are here mainly because they wanted to see this next match."

"But..." spoke the ninja.

"He is, after all, a member of _the_ Uchiha clan. And we, the Wind country, request that our Gaara be given the opportunity to fight him."

"What should we do Hokage-sama?" asked the ninja.

The Hokage took a moment to quietly ponder his options. "Very well. We will make an exception and have his match later on."

"Hokage-sama, are you really okay with that?"

"Just inform the examiner."

"Yes sir." he replied before disappearing in shunshin.

The Hokage then cast his gaze to the Kazekage. "But it seems odd that you would push so much for this, Kazekage-dono."

"Not at all." he replied. "There's no better opponent than the Uchiha to show off the quality of our villages shinobi to these clients. It's a great opportunity for us."

 **In the arena...**

The ninja informed the ref of the choice to delay the next match and instead skip to the next one.

"Geez, what trouble." the ref grumbled before casting his gaze upwards. "Ladies and gentlemen! The contestant for the next match hasn't arrived yet! Therefore we will push this match back and begin the next one!"

What is this bullshit?!" shouted Naruto. "If he ain't here then he's supposed to get disqualified! Why does he get the special treatment?!"

"Hey! This means that my match just got one closer!" yelled Shikamaru.

"And now the next match! Kankuro and Shino Aburame! Will the contestants come down!"

"Shoot." grumbled Kankuro. "I forfeit!"

"Huh?!"

"That means it my turn now!" groaned Shikamaru.

His opponent, Temari, whipped out her fan and used a wind jutsu to fly herself down to the arena.

"Looks like you're eager." spoke the ref. "Shikamaru! Get down here!"

"So troublesome." the Nara muttered as he made his way down to the arena. _'Everyone wants to see Sasuke's fight. They're probably angry because after all this waiting, they have to watch this pathetic excuse for a match between 2 side acts.'_ he thought as he entered the arena. _'Since nobody really cares about this fight, there isn't any point to doing it... Is what I'd normally say. But Hikage will probably be pissed, or whatever her equivalent to it is, if I don't at least try to win.'_ Shikamaru's head slumped over as he let out a heavy sigh.

"What, are you giving up too?" asked Temari.

' _And of course, I have to fight a girl again.'_

"Let the match, BEGIN!" shouted the ref.

"Let's do this!" shouted the girl as she charged Shikamaru.

"Oh man, that girl is really revved up." he lamented.

Temari swung her fan downwards, attempting to smash Shikamaru. A large cloud of dust was kicked up as a result. "What? Dead already?"

"Ya know..." came the Nara's voice.

The cloud of dust disappeared and revealed Shikamaru who was completely unharmed. He had dodged the swing and was now standing with his feet on top of the fans tip.

"Under normal circumstances, I would probably say something along the lines of 'I don't want to fight and I don't care if I become a chunin or not'. But my sensei went out of her way to train me for the past month. So I at the very least have to show off the fruits of my labor. Otherwise she'll turn me into a pincushion."

The Sand genin tried to lift up her fan, but found herself unable to with Shikamaru's weight on the end. "Get off damn it!"

"With pleasure." Shikamaru responded as he hopped off the fan.

However with all her strength being put into lifting the fan, Temari failed to realize how it would slam into her face as she lifted it upwards. Receiving a minor bump on her head and stumbling back a few feet, she quickly righted herself and swung her fan, unleashing a massive gale that forced Shikamaru to retreat. "You'll pay for that."

"I guess it's a good thing that Hikage beat that sexist attitude out of me." Shikamaru said to himself from his cover behind a tree. "Otherwise I might not want to hit her." he then patted at his jacket, feeling around for a certain something.

"You can't hide forever!" shouted Temari as she swung her fan around. "Kamaitachi no jutsu!" a powerful gust of wind was kicked up and sent directly towards Shikamaru's position. The wind was strong enough to rip branches off of the tree that Shikamaru was hiding behind. Temari grinned in satisfaction. That was, until a shadow shot out from the treeline towards her. She quickly backed up as the darkness approached her. Once it finally stopped stretching, she sliced her fan across the ground at its limit. "I've seen through your Kagemane no jutsu! Looks like there is a limit to how much you can stretch, shrink, and change the shape of your shadow, isn't there? No matter how much you change and stretch the shape of your shadow, you still can't stretch it further than the surface area of your original shadow... Right?"

Shikamaru chuckled mirthlessly. "Something like that." he answered as he stood up. _'Let's see... I can screw around for a while and wait for the shadows to grow.'_ he thought as he looked upwards, before turning his gaze towards his pocket. _'Or I can just say 'fuck it' and go straight for this.'_

"Come on out you coward! Kamaitachi no jutsu!" Temari shouted as she barraged Shikamaru with another blast of wind.

' _The sooner I end this the better. Guess I'm going with_ that _.'_ he then emerged from his cover and pulled out a scroll from his pocket.

"Oh? Finally come to face the music?" asked Temari.

"Sorry, but I decided to end this battle sooner rather than later." he said as he tossed the scroll in his hands. "You see, I'm a bit of a lazy person. So I don't like drawn out battles. As such, I'm going to go all out so that I can take a nap after this or something. Shinobi Transformation!" he shouted as he threw the scroll upwards.

 **In the stands...**

"What?!" shouted Naruto.

"Shikamaru can use it too?" spoke Hinata.

Across the arena, Miyabi narrowed her eyes. _'Looks like someone else is in town.'_

 **With the Kage...**

' _Great. Another headache.'_ thought Hiruzen.

' _Shit! There's another one of them? That can only mean that there's another ninja like_ her _.'_ thought the Kazekage.

 **In the arena...**

When the light died down, Shikamaru was in his transformed state. He wore a black jacket that was missing the right sleeve. A grey half-cape was attached at his shoulders, and he had green and brown camouflage pants. "Alright. Let's do this." he said as he rushed forward.

Temari was caught off-guard by his sudden approach. Up until now he had kept his distance. Now he was charging her and trying to get into close combat range.

' _But now he won't be able to utilize the shadows as much.'_ thought Temari. Only to be surprised by how the shadows beneath him were growing and churning about. Then she saw it. The shadows on the far side of the arena had disappeared. He was collecting the shadows and adding them to his own! "Shit! Kamaitachi no jutsu!"

The wind that Temari had summoned had no effect on Shikamaru, for he had formed his shadows into a wall to defend himself.

"Impossible!" shouted Temari as she kicked up another gale.

Shikamaru meanwhile had continued his approach while using his shadow wall as a barrier to protect him from the wind. Once he was close enough, he willed the wall to surge forward and wash over Temari. The blackness engulfed her completely as it swallowed her whole. "Kuroi Shunkan!" shouted Shikamaru. After a few moments, the darkness receded and Temari's unconscious form was revealed. She had no wounds on her, but was out cold.

"Winner! Shikamaru Nara!" shouted the ref.

The spectators were cheering for the Nara who had just shown overwhelming power that defeated his opponent. Naruto was the loudest of all.

"What a bother." the boy in question groaned as he undid the transformation. "I think I set the bar too high." he then cast his glance over at Temari, who was just beginning to stir. "Well, I guess I technically didn't hit her." he said as he made his way to the exit.

Once both fighters had exited the arena, the crowd was in an uproar in anticipation of the next fight.

"What about the next fight?!"

"Where's the Uchiha?!"

"Where is that idiot?!" shouted Naruto.

Suddenly there was a whirlwind of leaves in the center of the arena. Once the storm settled down, it revealed the forms of Kakashi and Sasuke.

"You asshole!" Naruto yelled. "You should have been disqualified! Where the hell were you?!"

The Uchiha completely ignored the blonde's raging and instead focused his eyes on the stands. Particularly, where his opponent was.

"Well..." Kakashi said, scratching the back of his neck. "We showed up all flashy and the like, but... Could Sasuke have been disqualified?"

"You're damn lucky." answered the ref. "The powers that be have deemed it appropriate to push back Sasuke's fight until the end. So even though he should have been disqualified, he hasn't."

"Aha, ha, ha! That's good!" responded Kakashi.

"But if you had been a minute later then he would have been." added the ref.

"Well, at least we made it on time!"

"Contestant Gaara! Get down here!" shouted the ref.

Gaara made his way through the stadium and out onto the field where he stood across from Sasuke. The Sand genin sneered and snickered as his gaze burrowed into the Uchiha.

"Ready? BEGIN!" shouted the ref.

Gaara's gourd became uncorked and sand poured out of it, causing Sasuke to retreat and put some distance between him and it. Suddenly Gaara grasped his head in pain. "Don't... get so angry..." he groaned as the sand poured out of its container and swirled about him. "I fed you some nasty blood earlier... I'm sorry... But this time it will be delicious." then, just as suddenly as it began, Gaara's strange behavior stopped. "Come."

"As you wish." Sasuke replied. He reached into his pouch and pulled out several shuriken and threw them at Gaara.

The Sand genin formed a wall of sand in front of him to act as a shield. The shuriken were caught by the sand which then turned into a disproportional clone. Sasuke charged forward and Gaara made the clone shoot out sand towards the Uchiha. Jumping up to avoid the attack, Sasuke threw more shuriken at the clone. However it knocked them out of the air by throwing the original shuriken that it caught. As Sasuke descended, he twisted his body in order to kick at the sand construct. The clone brought its arms up in defense, only to have them destroyed by Sasuke's strike. Flipping off the ground with his hands, Sasuke backhanded the clone in the neck. However this time the clone caught Sasuke's arm with its neck and held him. Using a powerful palm strike, Sasuke destroyed the sand clone and rushed Gaara who was behind it. Gaara brought up a wall of sand again to block Sasuke's punch, only to be surprised by the Uchiha suddenly appearing behind him. The Leaf genin slammed his fist into Gaara's face, cracking his invincible shield and sending the boy tumbling.

"So that's the armor of sand eh?" spoke Sasuke as he noted the cracks running across Gaara's face. "Come on." he beckoned as he flicked his hand up.

Gaara formed a wave of sand and sent it at Sasuke. But once again the Uchiha outmaneuvered Gaara's attack and came up behind him. He was moving faster than Gaara's sand could and was able to land another blow to the Suna boys face.

"What's wrong? Is that it?"

Before Gaara could answer, let alone get back up, Sasuke had resumed his assault. He ran circles around Gaara, constantly staying ahead of the boys sand defense and making hit and run attacks against him. The battle continued as such for a few minutes. Gaara was taking a beating and he still had yet to land a blow against Sasuke. However Sasuke was quickly tiring and had yet to break through Gaara's armor. Although he had the speed, he still lacked the power. And keeping up such fast speeds was draining his stamina rapidly.

Then Gaara made a handsign and all of his sand coalesced around him to form a dome of protection. If there were no openings for Sasuke to exploit, then he would win this battle of attrition. Sasuke realized this and quickly rushed in to land a hit on the boy before his dome was completed. However he was too late. His fist made contact with the protective dome, and as soon as it did, spikes of sand shot out and stabbed at him. Sasuke quickly backed off and was lucky enough to only receive a few nicks.

Sasuke stood back for a few moments and tried to analyze the situation. He made a few probing attacks against the dome, none of which did any damage. However he did hear Gaara muttering something from inside.

' _Hiding in there... I don't know what he's up to, but this is perfect.'_ Sasuke thought as he began to concentrate. _'Since mine also takes some time...'_ he then jumped backwards until he was against the wall, at which point he then jumped up it and stood along it with the wall walking technique. Making some handsigns, Sasuke then pressed his right hand over the back of his left hand. Lightning began to gather in his palm and the sound of chirping birds filled the air. He dragged his palm along the wall as he ran down it, tearing up chunks of it in the process. Sasuke proceeded to kick off the wall and bolted straight for Gaara's dome. Once he was right in front of it, he thrust his palm forward. "Chidori!"

Silence filled the air as Sasuke's arm pierced through Gaara's sand and struck the boy inside.

"I've got you." spoke Sasuke.

"What's... this warm stuff...? Mother... what did..." came Gaara's quiet voice. Suddenly everything went haywire. "MY BLOOD! MY BLOOD!"

Gaara's sand clenched down on Sasuke's arm and tried to pull him in.

"Damn it!" cursed Sasuke. He was unable to free his arm by his own strength, and had to resort to charging up another Chidori in order to free it. However as he freed his arm, another more grotesque arm made of sand was clutching it. Swinging his arm out, Sasuke was released from the grip and backed off.

"What is... this ominous feeling?" spoke Naruto.

" **Kit! I know what I was feeling from that boy now!"** came Kurama's voice.

' _What?!'_

" **That child, he's just like you! He has a tailed beast sealed inside him as well!"**

' _Seriously?! That's bad news!'_

The dome around Gaara fell apart, revealing the boy to be clutching a bloody wound on his shoulder.

Suddenly feathers started to fall from the sky, and all of the spectators began to fall asleep.

"Shit!" cursed Naruto. "Kai!" he shouted as he made a handsign.

Meanwhile, up where the Kage's were, the Hokage and Kazekage slowly turned to face one another.

"Shall we?" spoke the Kazekage as he popped open a bottle, releasing a large cloud of smoke.

The smoke acted as a sort of signal, for as soon as it erupted, several giant snakes were summoned just outside of the village and began to wreak havoc on Konoha.

"'Li' team above! 'Ro' team below!" ordered an anbu captain in the arena. "Protect the ministers!"

Two Sand jonin leaped out of the smoke to intercept the anbu, but they were quickly cut down. "Out of my way!"

Then two more figures leaped out of the smoke and landed on the roof of the nearby building. It was the Kazekage who was holding the Hokage at kunai point. Suddenly, the two Sand jonin who were cut in half turned into four different people who joined the Kage's on the roof.

"Do it." ordered the Kazekage as the four newly revealed Sound ninja took up positions on the four corners of the roof.

"Yes!" they responded in unison as they made several handsigns. "Ninpou! Quad Purple Flame Wall!"

A massive transparent barrier made of fire was erected around the four ninja as well as the Kage's. One of the Leaf anbu tried to enter, but he was set ablaze simply from touching the wall.

 **Back in the stands...**

Several Sound ninja's joined the obvious undercover anbu who had initiated the genjutsu that had put everyone to sleep.

"This is bad." spoke Kakashi.

"Some traitors in our midst." added Gai.

Several sound ninja made their way to the far side of the stands where a whit-haired woman was fast asleep.

"Is this her?" one of them asked.

"She fits the description. Now let's bag her." replied another.

Meanwhile, the Sand genin along with their jonin instructor had joined Gaara in the arena.

 **Back on the roof...**

"For the Sand to betray the Leaf..." spoke Hiruzen.

"An alliance is only useful as camouflage to make the enemy relax his guard." replied the Kazekage. "The stupid fighting games end here. From here, history changes."

"You want to start a war?"

"Exactly." answered the Kazekage.

"We should avoid solving things through force, and work out our differences through negotiation. Kazekage-dono, there is still time." Hiruzen offered.

"Heh, are we all doomed to become peace-loving fools like you when we age? Sarutobi-sensei." spoke the Kazekage, causing Hiruzen's eyes to widen.

"You!"

The two Kage's watched as the Sand genin fled with Gaara. Sasuke hot on their heels as they did so.

"It seems that Gaara was useless in the end." the Kazekage lamented. "Heh, heh, heh, no matter. I'm sure the nine-tails brat will follow as well. And then the only remaining variable is you."

"I see... So that's it." spoke the Hokage.

"Your foolishness has caused the Leaf to fall further and further behind. I've won."

"Heh, it's not over till it's over. I thought I taught you that."

The Kazekage used his free hand to tear at his face.

"Orochimaru!" he declared as the man revealed his true face. "I knew that this day would come eventually. But... you won't get my head so easily."

"I told you... you should have hurried and picked the Fifth. Because you will die here Third..." the Sannin said as he licked his kunai.

The two separated from each other, the whole hostage thing no longer necessary.

"I know you're not the type of man to act based solely on vengeance. You have neither goals nor reasons." spoke the Hokage.

"Hmm... Perhaps." replied Orochimaru. "But I do have a goal... Well, you could say that... I enjoy watching things in motion. It's quite dull when things are at a standstill, isn't it? A stopped windmill isn't worth watching, you know." he said as he began to remove his Kazekage disguise. "Though... Sometimes it's good, because of the anticipation you see. Anyway, right now I want to make that windmill spin again. With the 'Crumbling Leaf' as the wind."

"Heh, you're the same as always." Hiruzen said as he ripped off his Hokage uniform to reveal his combat outfit.

"So, you have your funeral shroud prepared. Heh, heh, to finally be able to fight you again. I'm trembling with anticipation." spoke Orochimaru.

"Before we fight, tell me, This barrier will be broken if one of its casters falls, correct?" asked Hiruzen.

"Not that you'll be able to." answered the snake ninja.

"Heh, not that I'll need to." responded Hiruzen.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in alarm and looked to the same corner that Hiruzen was looking at. The fat Sound nin had yet to put up the second barrier to protect himself. "NO!" Orochimaru shouted as he noticed the air in front of his underling shimmer.

Suddenly the air cracked like ice and a woman appeared. She slashed across the fat ninja's chest with a bladed fan. Although the attack wasn't instantly lethal, it did cause his concentration to break and the barrier to fall.

 **Back in the stands...**

"Let's bag her." said the Sound nin as he reached for Miyabi, only to be cut in half as she drew a katana out of thin air.

"Sorry, but I'm not so easy to take down." spoke the white-haired woman.

 **Outskirts of the village...**

One of the giant snakes was thrashing about the district, destroying everything in its path. It was forced to stop however, when several poisoned knives were thrown into its eyes. The creature writhed in agony as it was blinded, and didn't even notice the woman who hopped on its head.

"Big snake. Big target." Hikage said as she pulled out several knives that she held in each hand and in her mouth. She then jumped in the air and aimed herself at the snakes head. "Shanking." she dashed forward into the snakes head and unleashed a flurry of strikes before stabbing her main knife into the snakes skull. The blade extended and stabbed straight into the reptiles brain, killing it.

 **(-)**

The attack may have only just begun, but the counterattack was already beginning.

 **(-)**

 **Omake 1**

"Alright. Let's do this." Shikamaru said as he rushed forward.

Temari was caught off-guard by his sudden approach. Up until now he had kept his distance. Now he was charging her and trying to get into close combat range.

' _But now he won't be able to utilize the shadows as much.'_ thought Temari. Only to be surprised by how the shadows beneath him were growing and churning about. Then she saw it. The shadows on the far side of the arena had disappeared. He was collecting the shadows and adding them to his own! "Shit! Kamaitachi no jutsu!"

The wind that Temari had summoned had no effect on Shikmaru, for he had formed his shadows into a wall to defend himself.

"Impossible!" shouted Temari as she kicked up another gale.

Shikamaru meanwhile had continued his approach while using his shadow wall as a barrier to protect him from the wind. Once he was close enough, he willed the wall to surge forward and wash over Temari. The blackness engulfed her completely as it swallowed her whole. "Burakku fushoku!" shouted Shikamaru. After a few moments, the darkness receded and Temari's form was revealed.

"Hah! What the hell was that supposed to be?!" shouted the blonde girl. "That attack didn't leave a scratch on me!"

"That's because it wasn't supposed to. It was an attack meant to disarm an opponent." answered the lazy ninja. "By the way, you might want to cover up."

"What the hell are you going on about?" asked Temari. Then she felt it. A rather uncomfortable breeze blowing across her entire body. Slowly looking down, hoping what she was thinking hadn't come to pass, her face turned bright red at the realization that she was stark naked. Everything was on display to the audience. Her buttocks, her breasts, even her womanhood. The only thing covering it being a small path of blonde hair. "KYAAAAAAAA!"

 **(-)**

 **Shinobi Arts index**

 **The way this will work is; first I write the Japanese name for the attack. Second, I write the English translation. It may be a rough translation, but it's my intended translation for it. And lastly I will write its description.**

Harikengeiru (Hurricane Gale)- Naruto spins his body in order to essentially create a miniature tornado centered on him. His is able to send the tornado outwards to extend its range.

Buredo no Arashi (Tempest Blades)- Naruto swings his arms in front of him, creating several blades of wind that fly forward.

Rakurai no Dansu (Dance of the lightning strike)- Hinata performs a multi-hit combo against her opponent with lightning charged palms and finishes it with a powerful dual-palm strike that is able to pierce through the opponents defense.

Scatter: Inazuma no Arashi (Scatter: Lightning spear storm)- Hinata tosses a spear of lightning into the sky. By declaring 'Scatter' the spear splits into dozens of charged spears that rain down on the target.

Juretsu: Ikazuchi no tsurugi (Ten strikes: Sword of Lightning)- Hinata performs a quick-draw attack using a sword of lightning, slashing fast enough to make ten strikes in a single moment.

Kuroi Shunkan (Black Moment)- Shikamaru engulfs his opponent in shadows and is able to do a variety of attacks in tandem with it. He may assault their mind with genjutsu, suffocate their body, or toss them around. If one is strong enough, they can break free from the attack.

Burakku Fushoku (Black corrosion)- An attack meant to disarm the opponent. It also has the embarrassing side effect of stripping the target.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- I HAVE RETURNED!**

 **To this story at least. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but my inspiration comes and goes for each of my stories at random. And although I could push myself to write a chapter without it, the quality would be sorely lacking. And nobody wants that.**

 **It took me some time to pin down exactly how I wanted to proceed with things, and I think you'll be satisfied with what I did.**

 **However, I have a little bit of bad news. I had taken the advice of my reviewers and changed a few things in the previous chapters. But unfortunately I lost all the data as a result of technical difficulties (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!). So right now the only thing I have is the next proper chapter. You will no doubt notice that a few things have changed as a result in this chapter, particularly Orochimaru's encounter with Yumi.**

 **I will eventually go back and re-write the changes I made, but as of right now I just can't. Regardless of if it's 100 words or 1000, if I lose any work then my ambition is completely annihilated with the knowledge that I have to do it all over again and will probably forget some of the content I wrote.**

 **Other than that, I hope you like it and be sure to leave a review or point out any mistakes I made.**

 **Unfortunately there will be no Omake at the end this time, but I have one set for the next chapter most likely. Be sure to leave any suggestions in a review.**

 **And I hope you're all as excited about Senran Kagura Burst Re:newal as I am!**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

The tension in the air was palpable. Each of the combatants were ready to spring into action at a moments notice, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Orochimaru brought his thumb up to his cheek and wiped away the blood from the cut. Pulling the digit away, he looked upon his own blood with a sort of excitement at the prospect of the coming battle. Grinning, he turned to face Yumi. "It's been quite a while since I've had an opponent who drew first blood."

For her part, Yumi remained impassive at the snake-mans words.

"Though I must admit, it is quite unfair. Being able to completely hide your presence behind ice... That must be very useful for assassinations. If I hadn't sensed the unusually frigid air," Orochimaru said as he ran his hand across his neck. "Then I'm sure my injury would have been more than a little debilitating. But to think I would encounter someone with the hyoton kekkei genkai here of all places... I'm not sure if my luck is amazing or abysmal. I know for a fact that the last of the Yuki clan has perished recently, so that means you must be from the Land of Snow. What brings someone like you down here, so far out of your element?"

"I see no reason to answer you." responded Yumi.

Orochimaru shrugged. "Oh well. Not that it matters anyway. Whatever answers I truly desire, I shall just have to settle for ripping out of you by force. After all, even with the research I did on the hyoton, I haven't come across a jutsu like the one you used." the rogue sannin's lips then curled up into a smirk. "Tell me, is it one you created on your own, Yumi?"

The girls eyes widened somewhat in surprise. "You know my name?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere. Both the Hyuuga heiress and the Nine-Tails brat are capable of the same strange jutsu's. And I had already connected the boy's link to Miyabi, so I just needed to follow the trail left by the timid heiress."

"You certainly are resourceful. I'll give you that."

"But regardless, that ends today." spoke Hiruzen. "With Yumi's help, I shall rectify my mistake from those years ago, and end your life."

"Big talk coming from a frail old man." taunted Orochimaru. "Just because you have me outnumbered right now, doesn't mean that it will stay that way. And besides, after taking into account the unknown variables of Miyabi and Yumi, I decided it would be wise to purchase some insurance~."

 **Several minutes earlier...**

Two figures were seen walking towards the front gates that led into the Hidden Leaf village. Both wore long, bulky, black jackets that completely concealed their features with matching hoods that shadowed their faces, making it impossible to discern who they were.

"This is it; Konohagakure." spoke the lead person. "And it looks like we're just on time."

"Yeah. The signal hasn't gone off yet." spoke the second person in a quieter voice.

"But we might as well head inside anyway. Not like it's gonna throw off the plan _that_ much. Plus I really just want to get this over and done with so we can move on."

"You really can't stand waiting, can you?"

The lead person coughed. "Well, it's not like we're here to die for the snake-mans cause. We just so happen to be tagging along for our own benefit." they then scoffed. "'Lord' Orochimaru thinks that he can just throw a few thousand ryo at us and we'll play the part of the good little toy soldiers who will march to their deaths just so he can achieve his goal. Unfortunately for him, these toys have a mind of their own."

As the duo approached the gate, one of the guards stepped forward and stopped them. "I'm sorry, but due to the influx of visitors as a result of the chunin exams, anyone without a visitor pass is not allowed entrance to the village today. Are you in possession of one?"

"Yeah. I've got mine right up my sleeve." answered the lead figure as they raised their arm. Suddenly something shot out of their sleeve at incredible speed and struck the guard in the face before retracting back into their jacket.

The man was sent flying and landed sprawled out on the ground unconscious.

"Shit!" cursed the other guard. But before he could sound the alarm, the figure aimed their sleeve at him and repeated the previous attack.

"That was easy. I was worried that getting in would be a bit harder than that." said the quiet figure.

"The security must have been diverted to the stadium in order to protect all the nobles. Fortunately, that just makes this easier for us." the lead person said as they waltzed right into the village.

As the two entered the village, the sound of a loud explosion and the subsequent shock-wave that shook the earth reverberated throughout their surroundings. Moments later, a large cloud of smoke erupted across the city and from it emerged several enormous snakes.

"He certainly isn't one for subtlety." remarked the lead person.

"I just want to finish this already and go home..." the second one spoke softly.

"And we will once we deal with this mess. Remember, for now we play the part of the greedy mercenaries who are dancing to Orochimaru's tune. We wreck the village, deal with any resistance, and assist the Sound and Sand-nin. But as soon as we get the chance..." they first said, leaving the sentence hanging.

"Hnn..." the second grunted in affirmation.

 **(-)**

The chunin exam stadium was utter pandemonium. Being ground zero of the attack, it was where the most serious fighting was going on. This was also attributed to the fact that many nobles were there that needed protecting along with some of the Leaf's more powerful ninja clans.

Kakashi and Gai stood in the stands guarding the area where the Leaf genin were. The copycat ninja glanced around and noticed that several of the young ninja were able to break the genjutsu and remain conscious. That was good. Less effort needed to defend them since they could fight. He then turned his gaze back towards the enemy who was approaching from the lower stands. Roughly a dozen Sound-nin along with an anbu traitor. "A large number..." Kakashi groused.

"It's not just that." replied Gai. "The situation is a bit more dire. Take a look at the roof of the central watchtower."

Turning his head to the side, Kakashi noticed the large purple barrier that encased the roof. "That's a barrier jutsu."

"Yeah, but take a look at who's inside the barrier." spoke Gai.

Focusing his vision, Kakashi finally saw what Gai saw. "Orochimaru!"

"Snake bastard?!" yelled Naruto at the mention of the rogue sannin. "What the hell's he doing here?!"

' _Orochimaru!'_ Sakura thought in alarm. _'Why is he here? Did he come for Sasuke again?!'_ the pinkette spun her head in the direction of the arena, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. "Sasuke-kun's gone!"

It was now that the Sound-nin finally made their move. Two chunin rushed Sakura with the intent to kill her, but were intercepted en route. A flash of steel and the first man was cleaved in two, while the second man was grabbed by the throat and slammed to the ground. His attacker's hand then erupted with black flames and burned through his neck, killing him. Standing back up, Sakura was greeted by a familiar sight.

"Miyabi-san?!" the girl exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh hey, you're Naruto's teammate, aren't you? The one who's a total Sasuke fangirl." spoke the white-haired woman.

"What?!" Sakura screeched incredulously.

"Miyabi-nee-chan!" cried Naruto.

"Hey there squirt." she acknowledged Naruto with a nod of the head. "You did good in your fight earlier." she then turned her gaze to Shikamaru. "Who's your sensei? And don't say Asuma because you know who I really mean."

The lazy genin clicked his tongue in annoyance before grumbling out his answer. "Hikage."

Meanwhile Kakashi was busy appraising Miyabi. _'Hmm... She wields a katana. A common weapon used by Samurai in the Land of Iron. However at the same time she is capable of utilizing sealless fire jutsu, and a strange black fire at that. The slice she made through the first Sound-nin was precise and met with little resistance. That implies that she is skilled with the use of the sword. Not to mention she did it with one hand. Typically katana's are held with both hands in order to maximize their cutting potential. So to be able to cut someone in half with only the strength of a single arm... Impressive.'_

"Yo, cyclops!" Miyabi called out, breaking Kakashi from his musings. "Looks like we got some trash to take out." she said as she turned her attention to the incoming Sound-nin. "Think you can keep up old man?" she asked as she pulled out a scroll.

Kakashi let out a slight sigh at the jab aimed at his prematurely white hair. "While I am not as young as you, I'll have you know I am far from being considered 'old'. So we'll just have to see who needs to catch up with who." he responded as he pulled out a pair of kunai that he held in a reverse grip.

"Good answer." Miyabi grinned as she tossed her scroll upwards. "SHINOBI TRANSFORMATION!"

A bright flash of light later and Miyabi's outfit had changed considerably. She was now dressed in a white coat with black trimming. A dark brown cloak was tied at her shoulders that had the Ouroboros symbol emblazoned on the back. Her left arm was wrapped in white bandages and black belts. She also wore white boots with black leggings.

"Just like Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru!" Sakura gasped in awe.

"Well, I guess you're the person who has been giving Naruto lessons on the side." mused Kakashi. "Under normal circumstances I might be a bit upset that someone is trying to poach one of my genin, but I suppose that will have to wait for another time."

The brief reprieve from combat was over and the Sound chunin clashed with Kakashi, Gai, and Miyabi. Seeing as how their current opponents were not that high up on the difficulty scale, just numerous, the trio held back their true strength in order to conserve energy for tougher opponents.

Kakashi jumped about the stands and sliced at the necks of the Sound-nin he passed. Gai on the other hand chose to simply overpower their defenses with his strong taijutsu. And Miyabi was content to let her opponents come to her. It was clear that the enemy ninja were not used to fighting opponents whose weapons had a long reach. The fact that they were armed with only kunai gave the white-haired woman the advantage of being able to cut down the attackers before they got in close enough to even scratch her.

As the trio fought, the onlooking genin couldn't help but be drawn to the merciless display from Miyabi. Naruto knew that Miyabi was strong, but he had never seen her in actual combat before. Unlike Kakashi and Gai who fought in a way so as to take control of the flow of combat and then crush the opposition without allowing them to recover, Miyabi welcomed her attackers to make the first move. Her style of combat was fundamentally different from Kakashi and Gai. Instead of taking control of the battle by force, she redirected the flow until it was at an ideal point for her. Once it reached that point, she would end it with a single blow. Whereas Kakashi and Gai left their opponents relatively whole, those who faced Miyabi were either put to the blade and dismembered, or put to the blaze and burned.

Although Naruto would never admit it, when he was watching Miyabi so effortlessly annihilate the opposition, he was a little frightened of her.

"Damn it!" cursed Gai as he stood against Kakashi's back. "I'm getting concerned about Hokage-sama. I wish we could do something." he said as he punched away another Sound-nin, snapping his neck in the process.

"Let the anbu handle what's going on above, besides..." Kakashi spoke as he deflected several shuriken with his kunai. "Hokage-sama isn't a person who will be taken easily."

"But..." responded Gai with a hint of worry in his voice.

"After all, he is the Hidden Leaf's Hokage!"

The two jonin looked up as they heard a sound above them, only to be greeted by the sight of an enemy ninja. Before either had a chance to react, the ninja was engulfed in a black blaze and flew off to the side. "Your Hokage will be fine." came Miyabi's voice. Swinging her hand out to the side, the black flames dispersed to reveal the charred corpse. "If he's as strong as you say he is, then you just need to have a little faith in him. Besides, he's not alone up there."

Turning their gaze to the barrier on the watchtower, the two jonin were surprised to see another person standing beside the Hokage. A woman wearing a kimono.

"Who is that?" asked Gai.

Miyabi grinned. "That would be Yumi." she answered, causing Hinata to perk up. "And back where we're from, she's commonly known as the Yuki-onna of Gessen."

' _Snow woman huh?'_ thought Kakashi.

"Hey cyclops, bowl cut, you think you have this area covered?" asked Miyabi.

"Your question is irrelevant. Whether or not we are capable of holding the area, we must hold it regardless." answered Kakashi.

"Good." she responded as she turned to the genin. "Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, you three are with me."

"Really?!" asked an excited Naruto.

However his companions were less enthusiastic. Hinata was nervous and obviously still somewhat spooked from the attack, and Shikamaru looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Yeah. My orders from the Hokage are to ensure the safety of Sasuke Uchiha, regardless of how much of an asshole he might be." she explained as she sheathed her sword at her hip.

"What did you just call Sasuke?!" raged Sakura.

Miyabi simply ignored the pinkette's outburst. "The Hokage knew an attack from Orochimaru was coming, and he was also aware of one of the snakes targets. He has his eyes set on the Last Uchiha."

"What?! Why is he so special?! Everyone seems to want the teme!" shouted Naruto as he scratched at his head.

"I'm not at liberty to say why, but just know that Orochimaru wants him alive. And right now he's fled to the forest to pursue Gaara. Which makes our job a lot harder."

"Allow me to be of assistance." Kakashi spoke up as he used his kunai to cut his thumb. He then flew through a series of hand signs before slamming his palm on the ground. "Summoning jutsu!"

Once the smoke from the summoning cleared, it revealed a small dog wearing a headband and cape. "You called?" the dog asked as it stood up.

"Pakkun here will be able to track Sasuke down by his scent."

"Not bad cyclops." Miyabi replied with an approving grin.

"W-wait a minute! What am I supposed to do then?!" asked a neglected Sakura.

"Stay out of the way and find cover." answered Miyabi. "As of right now, you're a non-combatant."

"What?!"

"She's right Sakura." spoke Kakashi. "Anymore than Miyabi, Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Pakkun and it will be hard to maintain speed and remain hidden. And I think it's become more than clear that the strength of your three fellow genin dwarfs yours by a large margin."

"Alright! We've wasted enough time twiddling our thumbs here, time to get moving!" Miyabi ordered as she took off, followed close behind by her impromptu team.

"Alright! Time for some real action!" shouted Naruto as he followed behind Miyabi.

"N-Naruto-kun, wait up!" Hinata called out as she fell in line.

"Damn it. Why do I always get dragged into troublesome crap like this?" grumbled Shikamaru as he begrudgingly followed.

The brief lull in combat had ended and the enemy returned in force, forcing Kakashi and Gai to divert their attention.

' _Damn it! I'll show them who's useless.'_ thought Sakura as she quietly made her escape from the stands. _'Sasuke needs me! I need to go to his aid!'_

Meanwhile, the quiet person who nobody noticed finally made his move. _'I feel like I just blended into the background again.'_

 **(-)**

Orochimaru and the Hokage stared each other down in the confines of the barrier. Despite the presence of Yumi off to the side, it was almost as if they only had eyes for each other. But the fact that Orochimaru kept sending a brief glance towards the ice user meant he had not written her off as not being a threat.

Hiruzen and Orochimaru charged at each other, the Hokage throwing a shuriken as he did so, while Orochimaru simply went straight for the handseals to perform a jutsu. Yumi on the other hand had hung back and was spinning her fan in front of her and lowering the ambient temperature.

Once the Hokage's shuriken was halfway to Orochimaru, he flew through the handseals for his jutsu. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and suddenly one shuriken became two became four became many. A veritable wall of spinning blades of death.

However Orochimaru had completed the necessary handseals for his jutsu. "Summoning: Worldly Resurrection!" suddenly a massive coffin sprouted from the ground and took the impact of the shuriken. "One!"

' _To use a summoning as a shield...'_ thought Hiruzen. _'And these corpses are... The audacity!'_

"Two!" a second coffin erupted from the ground.

"Yumi! We can't let him raise the third!" shouted Hiruzen.

"On it!" she responded as a large chunk of jagged ice formed in front of her fan. With a flick of her wrist the ice shot forward, aimed directly at Orochimaru's position. The ice impacted the ground and exploded, sending sharp ice shrapnel in all directions.

"Three!" Orochimaru shouted, however a piece of ice grazed his cheek and his concentration was broken, preventing the final coffin from rising.

"It seems that we were fast enough. The final coffin wasn't summoned." Hiruzen noticed.

"So it seems. However things will only get tougher from here on out."

' _Indeed.'_ thought Hiruzen. _'Of all people, for him to summon those two...'_

The doors of the two coffins slowly creaked open before falling away to reveal their tenants. It was the corpses of the First and Second Hokage's. Both were looking rather worse for wear, but that didn't mean they weren't a threat.

"It's been a long time, eh monkey?" asked Tobirama, the Second Hokage.

Hiruzen nearly rolled his eyes at the old nickname.

"Oh, it's you..." spoke Hashirama, the First Hokage. "You've grown old, haven't you Sarutobi? I almost didn't recognize you."

"I would not have thought I would meet with you two brothers again in a situation like this." spoke Hiruzen with a hint of disdain. "How regrettable it is."

"They are strong." spoke Yumi. It was not so much a question as it was a confirmation.

"Very." answered Hiruzen. "I'm sorry that you had to be disturbed from slumber, but I will take care of this quickly."

"Still, the Edo Tensei huh?" Tobirama mused as he turned to Orochimaru. "This youngster is the one who summoned us with the forbidden arts? He's quite something."

"If that's so, then, Sarutobi!" Hashirama spoke as he drew the Third's attention. "It seems that this means we must fight against you."

"How about you quit it with the old folks chatter," Orochimaru said as he drew two kunai with seal tags attached and approached the two resurrected Hokage's from behind. "and just get started with killing each other already?"

Hashirama sighed. "No matter how much the world changes... It seems that there will always be conflict."

"Don't act like your against it." chided Orochimaru.

"Making tools of the dead... No good will come of this my foolish pupil." Hiruzen scolded.

 **(-)**

"Who the hell are these two?!"

"We can't stop them!"

"Where are these attacks even coming from?!"

Just as a Leaf chunin shouted this, something flew past him and sliced at his arm before it returned to the person using it. For the past while, the Leaf-nin had been engaging the two opponents in front of them but to little effect. The first seemed to be using some kind of extending weapon to bludgeon them while the second person was using a ranged bladed weapon that would retreat inside the back of their coat after they attacked. Whether or not it was the Devil's luck or their opponents just playing with them, none of the Leaf-nin had been fatally injured by the duo.

And given how the cloaked ninja's seemed to be holding back, it was more than likely the latter.

"You know, I honestly expected something a bit more impressive of the shinobi around here." spoke the first figure. "But it seems that our combat style is just to advantageous for fighting these mid-level fodder."

"I'm perfectly fine with not having a challenge..." the second said quietly.

"You'll never get stronger if you don't fight tougher opponents. You know that, right?"

"I don't need to get stronger. I just want to go home and sleep..."

The first person let out a sigh that was interrupted by a loud crashing. From their position on the rooftops, they were able to see the large toad that had just fallen out of the air and crushed one of Orochimaru's snake underfoot.

"Looks like we got a bit of a challenge on our hands. We should probably go and stop whoever it is from becoming too much of a problem."

"Hnn..."

The two then took off in the direction of the toad.

 **(-)**

Jiraiya, having finally made his big entrance, turned his attention to the remaining snakes before taunting them. "All you snakes, frozen in your tracks by the glare of a toad! What an embarrassment you are!" _'He finally started it, huh... That Orochimaru.'_

As the Toad Sage began plotting his plan of attack, Morino Ibiki jumped up and landed next to him on the toads head.

"Where's the Third?"

"He's at the test arena." answered the torture specialist.

"I see..." Jiraiya said, hardening his gaze. _'Don't you die old man.'_ "Alright, leave these overgrown reptiles to me!"

Suddenly he noticed one of the snakes heads began spurting out blood like a geyser. Looking more closely, he noticed the green-haired woman standing on top of it with several bloody knives in her hands.

' _She took down one of those snakes with knives alone? Impressive.'_ Jiraiya mused as he hopped off his toad and ran across the rooftops towards the next snake. _'But I can't allow myself to be shown up by these youngsters.'_

As he ran, he was joined by the woman who was going after another snake in the same direction. "That's a big frog you summoned." she said with a certain emptiness in her voice.

"It's a toad!" Jiraiya corrected.

"Hmm..."

The white-haired man huffed at the lack of an apology, but let it slide for the time being. "I'll take the one on the right, you take the left." he instructed as they neared the snakes.

"Got it."

"Not so fast!" came a voice.

The two stopped in their tracks as a pair of cloaked individuals landed in front of them.

"Great, more trouble." grumbled Jiraiya.

The lead figure let out a slight chuckle of delight. "To think, I would meet you _here_ of all places. How fortuitous. It seems that I'll be able to let off a little steam from all the pain you've put me through."

"So you got a grudge against me, huh?" groused Jiraiya. "Can't say I'm surprised. I've made more than my fair share of enemies over the years. But you'll have to be a bit more specific about what I did to y-"

"Quiet, old man!" the person barked. "I wasn't talking to you."

"O-old man?!"

"My sight is set on Hikage here." they said as they pointed at the green-haired woman.

"And you are?" asked said woman.

The two attackers then grabbed their coats and ripped them off to reveal their identities.

"Remember me?"

The first girl had pale-brown hair that was tied into a pair of high ponytails in the back with her bangs framing her face. Her eyes were a shade of dark-green and had a pair of oval-rimmed glasses hanging from her nose. Her outfit consisted of a dark-green overcoat with several black crosses imprinted on it. A white thigh-high skirt covered her legs, and she wore matching boots and thigh-high red socks. Lastly, in her hands was a bo staff.

The second girl was quite a bit different from the first. She had long, violet hair, with a black ribbon placed just above her bangs. Her eyes are a much darker shade of purple, and held a certain emptiness about them. Like they lacked the usual vibrant light of other living creatures. Her outfit was a long black dress with light gray trimming. In her arms was a stuffed animal that was dark blue in color and somewhat resembled a bear. In her hair she had three tri-sided fuuma shuriken, the two on the sides being smaller than the one in the center.

However the most notable thing about her appearance was something Jiraiya was kind enough to point out.

"By Tsunade's tits! Those are bigger than Tsunade's tits!" he shouted as he pointed to the purple-haired girls impressive bust.

"Don't ogle my little sister you pervert!" shouted the other girl.

"Wait, _she's_ the little sister?!"

A vein throbbed on the elder sisters forehead as her eye twitched. "And what exactly makes that so surprising?"

Even Jiraiya was smart enough to realize how dangerous the minefield he just stumbled into was. As such, he wisely chose not to answer her. Instead, he decided to move on with the conversation. "So I take it you two won't just allow us to pass by peacefully?"

"You catch on quick." responded the girl as she pushed up her glasses. "Murasaki, you can deal with ero-jiji over there. Hikage's mine."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! How can you call yourself a student of Hebijo and shy away from fights all the time?"

"Don't go to school, remember?"

The elder sister took a deep breath to settle her mind before turning back to face Hikage. "Never mind. Just keep him busy then." she then spun her staff several times before aiming it at the green-haired ninja. "Here I come Hikage!"

"Very well." Hikage responded as she pulled out more knives. "Let's do this Miss Boxer."

One of the lenses on the girls glasses cracked at that, and her face turned a shade of red from a mix of anger and embarrassment. Then she lunged. "YOU DID **NOT** JUST CALL ME THAT! MY NAME IS IMU!"

As she reached Hikage, she swung her staff down at her. Hikage back stepped to avoid the attack. The staff impacted the roof and set off an explosion of debris from the force of the attack. The green-haired girl continued to retreat as Imu pressed her relentless attack.

And so that left Jiraiya and Murasaki on their own.

"Heh, your sister has a temper like a certain blonde I know." remarked the toad sage.

"She just has a history with Hikage..." responded Murasaki as she stood across from Jiraiya. "I don't suppose you would be willing to surrender?"

"Sorry, but I'm not one to throw in the towel without even trying. Though I could ask the same of you. You don't seem like you even want to be here, let alone fight."

Murasaki looked wistfully off into the distance. "You're right..." she replied softly. "All I want to do is go home, read some doujinshi and light novels, and spend time with Bebe-tan..."

Jiraiya raised a brow. "Then why don't you?"

The girl turned her cold gaze towards the Sannin, and for the first time in a long while, he felt the pure, unrestricted influence of despair. "I don't have a choice in the matter..." she spoke without emotion, almost as if she was just a puppet. "The world is a cruel and unfair place... Those who wish to change the world are born weak, while those who wish to remain uninvolved are born strong... I come from a long line of shinobi, and our clan has something you would call a kekkei genkai... I never wanted to be a shinobi, but the duty was thrust upon me when I began showing symptoms of that rare power..."

"Your family forced you to become a ninja because you were the only one of your generation to inherit your clans power." Jiraiya surmised.

Murasaki smiled. But it was not a smile of joy. It was a facade. A smile not just to fool others, but to fool oneself. A smile that spoke of every dark and negative emotion there was. Disgust, hatred, despair, loneliness, fear, resentment, sadness, loathing, apathy, regret, jealousy... Jiraiya felt himself slowly slipping, being pulled into the blackness and falling through a sea of dark. Sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking... Further and further into the depths.

 _ **I hate everyone. Why won't they leave me alone. I'm scared. It's not fair. I don't want this. I don't want to do it. Leave me alone. It's all a lie. You're weak. Stay away. Die already. It's your fault. I can't do it. It hurts. Let me go! No, please stop! Someone... Anyone... Help me. Help Me. HELP ME!**_

" **The world is cruel and unfair..."**

Jiraiya's breath returned to him at Murasaki's words. Quickly casting his gaze around, he realized that he was still on the rooftop and the Leaf was still under attack. _'What the hell was that? A genjutsu?'_

"So long as the world continues to spurn me, I shall continue to reject it..."

Regaining his footing, Jiraiya put up his guard as he observed Murasaki.

"If you choose to leave now, then I will not pursue you..." the girl said as her clouded eyes bore into Jiraiya's. "But step forward, and I will fight you..."

"Are you sure you are capable of fighting me?" Jiraiya asked. Part of it was bluster as he was still somewhat shaken from... whatever the hell _that_ was.

"Make no mistake. Just because I don't want to fight, does not mean that I am weak..."

Jiraiya nodded at that. He knew of quite a few people whose personalities and appearances belied their true strength. "Alright then... Here I come!" he shouted as he charged forward.

 **(-)**

"Come on kiddies, try to keep up!" Miyabi shouted as she took the lead of the formation behind Pakkun.

The three genin had activated their Shinobi Transformations and were following close behind Miyabi as they blazed a path through the forest.

"I can't believe I'm getting pulled into bothersome crap like this again!" groaned Shikamaru.

"Quit your bitching pineapple head!" Miyabi called back. "You should consider yourself lucky that Hikage decided to train you. She's much more laid back than some of the other shinobi I know."

Pakkun sniffed at the air and made an abrupt turn as he followed Sasuke's scent. "This way!"

"So Miyabi-nee-chan, now that we're away from everyone else, now can you tell us why Orochimaru is targeting Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"Sorry. But despite how much I want to break protocol so you guys know just what we're getting into, I swore to the Hokage I wouldn't."

As the team continued through the forest, Pakkun's eyes widened in alarm. "Hey! You guys, pick up the pace!"

"W-what's wrong?" asked Hinata.

"From behind. Two squads with eight, no, nine. Nine men are chasing us." answered the dog.

"Hey, Hey! Already?! You gotta be kidding!" yelled Shikamaru.

"Wait a minute, there's another. They're a bit further back than the rest. Ten in total."

"Pick a number and stick with it already!" shouted Naruto.

"Doesn't look as if they got a fix on our true position yet, but they're closing in on us quickly."

"Geez! They're probably all beyond the chunin level. What a friggin annoyance." groaned the Nara.

"So what's the plan Miyabi-nee-chan?"

"We can't stop moving or else Sasuke will be lost. But at this rate they'll catch up to us and we'll have to fight... Someone needs to ambush them."

The three genin looked between each other in thought before Miyabi spoke up again.

"Guess that means I'm the obvious choice." she chuckled. "You guys keep going, I hold back and deal with our pursuers and catch up when I'm finished."

"Are you s-sure you can do it Miyabi-san?" asked Hinata.

"Heh, less than a dozen shit jonin? They won't know what hit 'em." she said as she began to slow down. "Remember the mission! You are only to retrieve Sasuke! Anything else is unnecessary!"

"Right!" the three genin shouted in response.

 **(-)**

Following the footprints and broken branches, the lead jonin made a turn at the tree. "They went this way."

They continued to track their targets, heading deeper and deeper into the forest. Eventually they ended up at a small clearing where the tracks stopped. "The trail ends here."

"What?"

"How is that possi-"

The man was cut-off as Miyabi dropped from the trees above and stabbed her sword into the back of his neck. _'That's one.'_

"Shit! Ambush!"

"Surround her!"

Miyabi stuck the tip of her sword into the ground and dragged it forward, sending forth a wave of black flames that consumed two of the Sound-nin.

' _That's three.'_

Bringing her blade up, she managed to deflect several kunai that were thrown at her as she charged the man throwing them. She quickly bore down on the unfortunate man and slashed across his stomach horizontally, disemboweling him in the process.

' _Four. That's leave's only six left.'_

"Get some distance! She's faster than she looks!" order the jonin leader.

"You can make all the plans you want, but they mean absolutely nothing in the face of my strength." taunted Miyabi.

The jonin snarled in response before widening his eyes in surprise and grinning beneath his mask. "Oh yeah? Well what about in the presence of someone's weakness?"

Miyabi raised a brow, confused by what he meant, until another Sound-nin dropped out of the trees holding something. Or rather, someone.

Miyabi let out a huff of annoyance. "God damn fangirl."

The newcomer had Sakura held in his arms at knife point. And it looked like he was more than willing to follow through with slicing open her neck.

"Now why don't we all take a step back and ponder this new development." started the squad leader. "While we may be unable to defeat you in a fair fight," he said as he walked over and caressed Sakura's cheek. "This little thing adds a new factor into the mix."

"Damn girl. I told you to stay put." scolded Miyabi.

"S-sorry..." the pinkette said as she looked ashamed.

"So, here's the deal; You forfeit your life and we'll let pinky here go. Resist, and we'll carve her a new mouth in her throat." the leader said with a smirk. "Whaddaya say? Is the life of one of your villages genin worth sacrificing yours over? Or will you just throw her away and-"

"Go ahead and kill her." interrupted Miyabi.

"Eh?" uttered the leader.

"Eh?" uttered Sakura.

"Do I look like I give a damn about the brat? I barely know her. I certainly ain't putting my life on the line for her." Miyabi asked as she stuck her sword into the ground and leaned on it.

"You what?!" raged Sakura. "How can you be so heartless?!"

"B-but she's a member of your village, don't you care about her? It's your job as a kunoichi of the Leaf to protect her!"

"Hey dipshit, do you see a forehead protector on my person?" asked Miyabi.

The man took a moment to give Miyabi a once-over, and to his surprise, he saw nothing that marked her as belonging to the Leaf.

"I'm just an outsider who got caught up in this mess. I don't protect or serve the Leaf, only the people I give a damn about. Anymore than that'll cost you." she then set her sight on Sakura. "So how much do you think your life is worth to me? You better start offering me something if you want to live."

Sakura was flabbergasted by Miyabi's audacity. "Wha- B-but- I-"

"Don't answer, that was rhetorical." interrupted Miyabi. "Because even if you do pay me, you're just paying me to sacrifice my life for yours. And I most certainly value my life more than some brat I barely know. Sorry fangirl, but I'm gonna have to ask you to die for the sake of the Leaf so I can kill these assholes. But don't worry, I'll be sure to leave a flower at your grave every year."

"YOU BITCH!" roared Sakura as she struggled in the Sound-nin's grasp.

Suddenly the man holding her was engulfed by a torrent of black flames. The kunoichi threw herself away from the man as Miyabi rushed in and sliced apart another two enemies. Now it was just down to the leader and one other.

"What?! Impossible! How did you set him ablaze?!"

Miyabi smirked. "Take a look at where he was standing."

Turning his gaze, the leader noticed a small hole in the ground that had a bit of black fire billowing from it. "From underground?!"

"When I stabbed my sword into the ground, I was using it to subtly inject my flames into the earth. Then I just had to keep you distracted while I guided them to where I wanted them."

"S-shit! I'm outta here!" cried the other Sound-nin as he turned and ran. He didn't get far as Miyabi swiped her sword in front of here and sent out a wave of fire that burned him in half.

The white-haired woman then turned to the leader. "You're all that's left."

"Grr! I'll kill you damn it!" he roared in anger as he charged Miyabi.

The two passed each other by in a flash of movement. And once they did, Miyabi sheathed her sword as blood erupted from the Sound-nin's chest.

Having finally resolved the problem, Miyabi turned to the trembling Sakura. "For your disobedience, I think a punishment is in order." she said with a sadistic smirk.

Some say that to this day, you can still hear the pink-haired girls screams echo through the forest.

 **(-)**

 **A/N- Fun fact; did you know that Murasaki boasts the largest bust of all the SK girls? I don't know why, but I feel that's kind of a weird given that she's a hikikomori.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- I'm on a roll! Already got another chapter out!**

 **This is the conclusion to the attack on the Leaf. Next will be the aftermath along with some filler before the next arc.**

 **IMPORTANT- I intend to add an omake to the end of this chapter, but right now I'm blowing through the next actual chapter as you're reading this. I don't want to lose momentum, so when I do add the omake to this chapter, it will probably be after I post the next one. I'll be sure to leave a note in the A/N.**

 **Also, if anyone wants to be of help, I am in need of information. Since Naruto is so long, and I never watched all of the anime, I am in need of information on the jinchuuriki. Particularly the following. As a side note, you need only list the episode or chapter they are in.**

 **Any major events for Roshi, Han, Utakata, and Fu. This includes; if they meet any other jinchuuriki, as well as when they are captured by the Akatsuki.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy. This is the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my stories, so that's saying something. It also means that as of right now, this story has surpassed the length of my previously longest story, A Murder of Qrow. So... Yay I guess?**

 **If you have an idea for an omake, leave it in a review or PM me.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

The battle between the defending forces of the Leaf and the attacking forces of the Sand and Sound was in full swing. Thanks to the efforts of the Sannin Jiraiya most of the large snake summons had been dealt with. Although one was still rampaging about, it wouldn't be that way much longer. Despite this, the village was still hectic as civilians ran for their lives, trying to reach the evacuation shelters before they were spotted by the enemy. Even with only one snake left, the morale of the enemy was still holding strong as they continued their assault.

None of them had yet to realize that they were nothing but sacrificial pawns to the man who headed the attack. All he cared about was achieving his goal, regardless of the cost. So the Sand and Sound ninja's continued to fight even as the battle slowly turned so as to favor the Leaf. Part of their strong morale was the current pair of fights that were taking place on the villages roofs.

"T-this can't be real..."

"Who the hell are those kunoichi?!"

"Should- should we be helping?"

"Screw that! I ain't getting involved in that shit! I'm just a chunin!"

"And they are definitely jonin level."

"No shit! That one girl is going toe-to-toe with Jiraiya himself! One of the freaking Sannin!"

The Leaf-nin watched as Hikage did a backflip off the roof and into the air, throwing over a dozen knives with both hands. They all missed their target as Imu dashed through the barrage and deftly dodged them. Jumping into the air, she timed it perfectly so as to match the moment of her jumps apex to Hikage's landing. Imu aimed the end of her staff at Hikage's landing spot and then tossed it up in the air, causing it to rotate as it fell back towards her. As soon as it passed in front of her, she slammed her palm against its tip.

"Demolishing Thunder!" she shouted as the staff suddenly grew in length and width, turning it into something akin to a giant battering ram. A battering ram aimed directly at Hikage as its length extended.

The staff smashed into the building Hikage had landed on, reducing it to nothing more than rubble and kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.

"Still alive?" Imu called out.

The dust settled to reveal Hikage standing on top of the staff, looking no worse for wear. "Very much so."

With a simple hand gesture, the staff shrunk in size and returned to Imu's hand. "Of course. I didn't expect something like that to be enough to take care of you. You're much to fast and slippery for a power attack like that to hit you."

Hikage flexed her muscles as she leaned backwards, showing off her unnatural flexibility. "It did help that you were holding back. Normally you can launch it faster than that."

"Hmm, noticed that huh?" Imu asked as she returned to a fighting stance. "You are correct, I am holding back a little. But I could say the same of you."

"I was just following your lead."

"That's just like you. Always going with the flow." Imu chuckled.

"It's gotten me this far in life. Why stop now?" Hikage asked as she casually tossed her knife in the air repeatedly and caught it. "Though I am curious as to why you are holding back."

Imu pushed up her glasses as she grinned. "Well, it just so happens that despite the fact that I'm aiding these wannabe shinobi in their attack, I have no interest in ensuring their success."

"Then why join? If you were hired then you only get paid after the job is done. It doesn't make sense for you to want your employer to fail."

"True. Although my 'boss' was willing to part with a nice sum of ryo for our services, which was a tempting offer to actually help him, I found that there was a much greater prize waiting for us here."

"That being?"

"The snake man had hired us as insurance to deal with an unknown factor. A powerful kunoichi who had displayed incredible abilities. Our orders were to bring her in, preferably alive. But what he didn't count on was the fact that the target he described to us was our squad leader."

"Miyabi is here?" Hikage asked as she tilted her head.

"It would seem that's the case. So until things settle down a little and we can do a proper search for her, I have to put on a little show for those cannon fodder."

"So you aren't really allied with the Sand and Smell?"

Imu sweatdropped a little. "It's actually Sound. But yes, they are just a temporary partner. Though I am curious as to why you are here and defending this village."

"I was travelling around, looking for my squad. Then I got hungry and I didn't feel like eating wild mushrooms. The last person to do that was Mirai, and she was stuck on the toilet for a week. And by toilet, I mean a hole in the ground. Though it was funny that one time when in her haste she wiped with poison ivy." although there was no mirth seen on Hikage's face as she said that.

"I-I see."

"Anyway, I decided to take on one of the villages genin as an apprentice for the time being. It's not like I had anything else to do. And it would be easier for my squad to find me if I stay put."

"A logical decision. And with this attack on the Leaf, I'm sure everyone's eyes will be drawn to it." Imu responded with a nod. "Well then, I think we've taken a long enough break. Need to keep up appearances after all."

"Let's goooo..." Hikage drawled as she sped forward.

 **(-)**

It had been quite awhile since the last time Jiraiya felt as pressured as he did now. The girl he was fighting was at least a third his age, and yet she managed to keep up with him in combat.

' _She must be a natural prodigy. That's the only explanation considering her aversion to being a ninja. No way she took training seriously.'_

Jiraiya was shaken from his musings as a large purple bear charged and swiped at him with its claws. As if the fur color wasn't strange enough, the damn thing had freaking glowing red eyes! Forming a rasengan in his right hand, he ducked underneath the swipe and then hit the bears chin in an uppercut with the destructive sphere. The beast flew into the air before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Letting out a slight breath of exhaustion, Jiraiya refocused his gaze on his opponent. Murasaki was in surprisingly good condition. Save for several tears in her outfit, she was completely unharmed. Her skirt was now noticeably shorter, showing off her slender pale legs. Aside from those superficial damages, the girl had yet to suffer a wound from Jiraiya's attacks, which irked him quite a bit. To make matters worse for the Sannin, Murasaki showed absolutely no signs of physical exhaustion. Granted, the girl hadn't really done anything physical herself. It's those damn shuriken in her hair. At first Jiraiya thought it was just an odd fashion choice. That was until her hair literally came to life and began swinging the things at him. She even managed to use them for flight so she can minimize how much she uses her legs. And all the while she simply holds that stuffed bear in her arms.

Compared to her, Jiraiya was in a considerably worse condition. He was already starting to feel his stamina drain and the few cuts Murasaki managed to give him, while not debilitating, were still an annoyance. Still, he had to give credit where credit was due, the girl was pretty skilled. To use her hair as a medium to attack was not unheard of. He can attest to that himself. But the way she was doing it certainly was new.

' _A girl who has no desire to become a ninja. To make it this far without any motivation... Impressive. I shudder to think what she would be capable of if she actually applied herself.'_ he mused as he prepared for the next exchange of blows. "I must say, you are putting up quite the fight for someone who has no interest in being a kunoichi. I haven't had this much trouble in awhile."

Meanwhile the girl continued to stare at him with those empty eyes. He had to force himself not to meet them. Every time he did, he was overcome with a feeling of despair. Like it would be better for him to just throw the fight.

Trying to alleviate some of the tension in the atmosphere, Jiraiya gave a weak smile. "You know most people, when complimented, would at least say thank you."

"Words are just that, words..." responded Murasaki. "Anyone can say nice things, but that doesn't make them a nice person."

Seriously, this had to be the most negative person Jiraiya ever met. _'And it's that negativity that's making this a harder fight than it should be. Whatever that pseudo-genjutsu she's using is, it's really throwing me off. I can't even dispel it.'_

And unfortunately for Jiraiya, things would only get harder as the battle dragged on. Since Murasaki's power, the Root of Calamity, is powered by negative emotions that makes dealing with her difficult. Should Murasaki be on the losing end of a fight, those emotions would begin to surface in forms like fear, anger, and despair. This would result in giving her a power boost as the Root of Calamity further influences her body and mind, as well as making her actually fight with the intent to kill. Jiraiya was lucky in a way. Because the influence of the Root of Calamity was throwing him off, it made it harder for him to hit Murasaki and turn the battle in his favor.

"Why do you continue to resist? Can't you see that this struggle of yours is pointless? It would be more productive for you to disengage and help out elsewhere." spoke the cynical girl.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." responded Jiraiya. "The fact that you can stand against me means that you are much too dangerous for anyone else to handle. I have to be the one to fight you, otherwise more people would die in exchange."

"Such a foolish reason... You cling to the belief that their lives are worth yours. But that is wrong. Human life is a cheap thing. By sacrificing yourself, you arrogantly decide your own worth as being more than each of theirs individually." she said as she looked down at Bebe-tan. "All life is worthless. No one life is worth another's because it has no value. And yet you are willing to fight in place of others even when the fights outcome is already decided. You don't even know who those people are, but you still want to protect them. Why?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Even if I don't know them, every member of the Leaf is like family to me. From the weakest child to the Hokage himself, all their lives are precious. And I will not allow you to take them away."

Murasaki turned her head down further, causing her bangs to shadow her eyes. "It's so hard to live like trash, knowing someone like you is out there... It just makes me feel even more worthless... and humiliated..." her head slowly lifted up and for a moment Jiraiya thought he saw a glint of red in the center of her eyes. "I gave you an out... multiple times... And you continue to refuse. I only want to go home... but you're making it impossible for me... I will give you one last chance, leave now and I'll let you live. I have no reason to fight you anymore, my task is complete."

"Task?" muttered Jiraiya.

"Yes, task." repeated Murasaki. "Do you not remember what my sister said?

Jiraiya played back the conversation in his head.

" _Never mind. Just keep him busy then."_

The Sannin's eyes widened in realization. She was just distracting him!

"What the hell are you up to?" he growled.

"It doesn't matter. If you leave now I promise not to harm anyone else. Even the people I fought earlier managed to escape with their lives so you have no reason to seek vengeance."

"Answer me!"

Murasaki let out a sigh. "We are here to find someone. That is all."

Immediately Jiraiya's mind went straight for the worst possibility. Given how strong the girl was, it was obvious that Orochimaru must have given them the most important task; retrieving Sasuke.

"I will not allow you to pass!" Jiraiya shouted with renewed vigor.

"... Very well. You have refused my offer and instead choose to continue this fight..." she said quietly.

Jiraiya could faintly hear the sound of sobbing.

"I just want to go home..." she said softly as her arms began to tremble. "I just want to go home. I just want to go home. I just want to go home."

Jiraiya was instantly on edge as the girl kept repeating the same thing. Something big was coming.

"I just want to go home. I Just Want To Go Home. I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" she suddenly screamed as she threw her head back. When she lowered it back down, Jiraiya could see tears streaming down her face. "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LEAVE?!"

Jiraiya staggered as an overbearing pressure suddenly pressed down on him. The feeling of despair and negativity was now at an entirely different level. If before it was akin to a running sink, now it was like a roaring waterfall. Looking back up, he saw that Murasaki was now radiating darkness as her hair billowed behind her. From the darkness came several spectral bear paws that had large glowing red, razor sharp claws.

"IF YOU WON'T LET ME LEAVE, THEN I'LL JUST HAVE TO KILL YOU!" she cried at the top of her lungs.

' _This ain't good!'_

For the first time since the start of the fight, Murasaki began to move forward using her legs. "Someone..."

Jiraiya braced himself for what was coming.

"Save Me..."

 **(-)**

Trees blurred past the duo as they made their way through the forest as fast as possible. In the lead was Miyabi, a slight look of annoyance plastered across her face. Trailing behind her as best she could was Sakura. The pinkette wasn't as fast as Miyabi, so she was having slight trouble keeping up. That fact was compounded by her predicament.

Rather than looking strained to keep up, Sakura's face was a healthy shade of pink that matched her hair. The reason being was from the fact that she was holding them hem of her shirt down to keep it below her waist and not flapping about.

"Can I please have them back Miyabi-san?!" the girl cried. "I can't keep up like this!"

"Too bad. You should've thought of that before you decided to play hostage. This is your punishment." the elder girl replied coldly.

"Couldn't you just make me do training exercises instead?!"

"No. I find physical punishments to be counter productive. Harming a person means that it will take time for them to recover, and forcing them to overwork themselves in training puts a tremendous strain on the body. So instead I find it better to work the mind. Humiliation is an effective tactic because like physical punishment, you don't forget the consequence for next time." Miyabi responded coldly. "Now hurry up! If any of those kids get hurt since I wasn't there to help just because I had to waste time saving your ass," she turned her head to give Sakura a devious smirk. "then I think I'll prove that your ass is safe and sound with visual proof."

It took only a moment for Miyabi's words to sink in, and when they did, her face quickly paled.

 **(-)**

In the outskirts of Konoha, the fight could be seen raging on from quite a distance. In particular, from the top of a rather tall tree that was currently playing host to someone. It was a teenage girl who was observing the carnage from afar, her hands held in front of her eyes to emulate a pair of binoculars. The girl had long blonde hair that had a blue headband in it with ribbons on the side. Her blue-green eyes seemed to glimmer as she developed a excited look. The girls outfit of choice was a white unbuttoned shirt with no bra underneath along with a blue tie and blue plaid skirt. For whatever reason, her shirt seemed to defy the laws of physics as no matter how much she moved around, her nipples were always concealed from view despite the shirt being wide open. She also wore a large pair of black and gold metal boots adorned with small, blue tassels.

"Wahoo! Looks like someone's having a party over there!" she exclaimed as she watched the chaos play out. "A real knock-down drag-out, no holds barred." the girl then hopped up and pumped her fist in the air. "And to think, they didn't invite ME! Well it's a good thing I'm the forgiving type."

The girl clicked one of her boots heels against the other, causing both to open up compartments where bladed wheels popped out. The wheels were spinning, powerful wind energy swirling in their center which allowed the girl to float off the ground.

"Time to kick some ass!" she shouted as she kicked off the tree and flew forward. "And maybe grab some ass too~!"

 **(-)**

"Well then, shall we begin?" Orochimaru asked as he took the two kunai with seal tags that he was holding and stuck them in the back of the revived Kage's heads. The weapons sunk in and disappeared as their heads swallowed them up. Orochimaru then made a handseal. "But before that, I really must have the two of you return to your true forms."

As he said this, the pale and decayed skin of the former Kage's began to molt, resulting in a more lively appearance from the two.

Hiruzen clicked his tongue. "They look even more alive than before."

"No longer are we fighting corpses. Now we fight men." Yumi stated.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Do you know what it feels like? The happiness and sense of accomplishment you gain when you have the chance to hurt the one you once called master? I thought I'd have you experience that pleasure, and so I prepared this situation for you."

Hiruzen frowned and was inwardly seething with rage.

"Please, enjoy yourself!"

"Let's do this Yumi!" Hiruzen shouted as he charged forward while making handseals.

"Right!"

"Fire style: Fire Dragon Napalm!" Hiruzen then blew a massive ball of fire from his mouth to engulf his target.

At the same moment, the Second Hokage finished his own handseals. "Water style: Water Barrier!" from his mouth poured a torrent of water that surrounded them and snuffed out the fire.

He then followed it up with another attack. "Water style: Water Dragon Missile!"

As the water coalesced into a single form that rocketed towards Yumi and Hiruzen, the former swept her arms outward, causing a frozen mist to form in the air. "Black Ice Missiles!" the mist solidified into several javelins and fired off to meet the water attack. As soon as they made contact, the water froze solid.

"Tch, as expected when going up against someone with the hyoton kekkei genkai." grumbled Orochimaru.

The First Hokage quickly went through a series of handseals for the secret jutsu that only he knows how to use. "Wood style:"

"Yumi, take cover!" Hiruzen shouted as he bit his thumb and prepared a summoning."

"Forest Genesis!"

Massive tree roots and vines erupted from the roof below them and grew upwards, shattering the formation of ice and turning the battlefield into a tangle mess of foliage. Yumi was able to deftly dodge, but being that Hiruzen was old, he was caught by one of the vines just as he finished his summons.

"Monkey King Enma has arrived!" shouted the large monkey man who popped into existence.

Yumi quickly used her fans to slice apart the vines holding the Third. "Are you alright?" she asked as she noticed the blood onhis shoulder.

"Just a scratch. I ain't dead yet."

"So, you called me for this bastard after all, eh Sarutobi?" Enma asked rhetorically. "You're pathetic, you know that? This is all because you didn't kill him when you had the chance _back then_!"

"I know. But now it is time to rectify that mistake."

"Hmph, a little late for that if you ask me."

"Enma! Use the Kongou nyoi!" ordered Hiruzen.

"Gotcha! Transform!" the monkey king shouted as his body turned into a large bo staff. Although given the size, it was more of a telephone pole. One that Hiruzen was able to handle with ease.

"Well, I guess I should arm myself as well." Orochimaru mused. He opened his mouth and out from it came a snake. The reptile opened its mouth to reveal a sword pommel which Orochimaru gripped. Pulling it out with all the grace of a professional sword swallower, he spun it with a flourish before holding it at his side.

"The Kusunagi no Tsurugi huh?" murmured Hiruzen.

Yumi took a moment to analyze the blade. From her first impression, it didn't seem all that special. Especially not compared to her worlds version. It was a story she was quite familiar with.

Long ago their was a yoma known as the Yamato no Orochi. Otherwise known as the First Orochi. It was said to be the progenator of all yoma, and the root of all Darkness. It was so powerful, that even though it was defeated, it's Dark power could not be extinguished. And so, every 80 years a new Orochi is born, though none had taken on the form of the eight-headed serpent. The beast was slain by the First Kagura, Amaterasu, who was said to be a goddess incarnate. After the beast was killed, its blood coalesced and coagulated, forming the Kusunagi no Tsurugi. It was a blade whose power was on par with Homura's Engetsuka. Passed down through the Shiranui clan, Amaterasu's descendants, it waits for its next rightful wielder.

The sword before her was nothing in comparison.

"Here we go Enma!" shouted Hiruzen as he charged forward.

"Be careful! Even if I'm in kongou form, the blade of Kusunagi is gonna be sore man..."

The two revived Kage's ran to intercept Hiruzen, but they themselves were intercepted on the way. Yumi deflected both of their arms with her fans, the brief touch enough for frost to from on their arm-guards. Meanwhile Hiruzen thrust his staff forward at Orochimaru. It extended its length to reach him, but was blocked by the Sannin's sword. He quickly spun the weapon and attempted to get around the snake-mans guard from the side. Orochimaru ducked underneath and kicked upwards, sending the staff into the air, causing Hiruzen to stagger. Charging at the opening, he was forced to a dead halt when a shard of ice flew past his face, almost taking off his nose. Turning his gaze he saw that Yumi, while being kept busy by two Kage's, still managed to take a moment to send an attack his way.

Hiruzen took the time to recover and reengage his disciple.

Yumi continued her fight against the two Kage's. It wasn't as hard as it couldv'e been, as her ice manipulation allowed her to freeze any water the Second spat out, as well as cause any vines the First created to wither and die from the frost. "Ice Pillar Fan!" she yelled as she threw her fans. The two bladed fans began to spin around Yumi's form, attacking with blades of ice that formed as she danced forward. The two Kage's were forced onto the defensive as the attack persisted, but were eventually sliced across the chest by the final strike.

However Yumi was surprised to see that not only was there no blood, the wounds quickly sewed themselves shut. "Damn." she muttered a curse as she retreated towards Hiruzen, just in time to block an attack by Orochimaru that was meant for him. The two back pedaled until they were a safe enough distance from their opponents. "We have a problem." stated Yumi.

"Which is?"

"The Kage's, their wounds are healing."

Hiruzen let out a huff of annoyance. "Of course they are..." he grumbled. His age combined with the difficulty of the fight was beginning to take its toll on him. Sweat was already forming on his brow and his bones were aching. "I'm getting too old for this crap. Maybe it's time for me to retire."

"You seem pretty sure of yourself old man. Thinking that you'll actually survive this fight." gloated the fallen Sannin.

"What's the plan?" asked Yumi. "Is there any way we can kill those two?" she asked as she gestured to the revived Kage's.

"It's not gonna disperse anytime soon, even if we kill Orochimaru." answered Hiruzen.

"What if we immobilize them? Will that work?"

Hiruzen quirked a brow. "You have a plan?"

"Yes, though I'll need you to cover me for a few moments."

"I'll see what I can do." responded Hiruzen as he stood in front of Yumi.

"You've grown old, haven't you sensei? I've never seen you strain so much before." taunted Orochimaru as he reached for his face and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Hiruzen asked, trying to keep Yumi out of sight while he stalled the snake-man.

"It's so pitiful. Even you, he who was hailed as the God of Shinobi, cannot defeat old age." Orochimaru said as he ripped the skin off his face, much to everyone's surprise. For instead of his face being a bloody mess, it revealed an entirely different younger face.

"Who the hell are you?!" demanded Hiruzen.

"Is it that much of a shock that you can't figure it out? It's me... I'm Orochimaru."

Hiruzen's eyes widened in alarm, before narrowing in understanding.

"I see. That one, he's finally done it..." murmured Enma.

"You... can't mean, you've already completed that kinjutsu..."

"It's been over ten years since I left the village. I suffered quite a bit to achieve this."

"You aren't human." muttered Hiruzen. "You never were. One of the reasons I didn't choose you to be the Fourth, was that twisted ideology."

"My Immortality jutsu is a spell where you anchor your soul to this world forever. In other words, it's a reincarnation spell where you find a new body, enter it with your spirit and gain possession of it. Of course, the original person is killed in the process. But that's the cost of progress it seems." chuckled Orochimaru. "The reason I disguised myself as my old self up until now was because I thought I'd let you be nostalgic about the past."

Hiruzen's teeth were grinding in anger.

"To grow old... How destitute it can be... When I look at you I can feel it deeply. You will die here and I will obtain an even younger, more beautiful, stronger body."

"You're after Sasuke Uchiha." stated Hiruzen.

Orochimaru let a little bit of surprise show on his face. "You already knew?"

"Technically it was Miyabi who figured it out." responded Hiruzen.

"Hmph, well I suppose she was. Yes, I am after the Sasuke-kun. The sharingan, the ability to copy any jutsu, it will be a great boon to my research." Orochimaru said smugly. "And given his desire for revenge, he will be oh so easy to manipulate."

"... What number face... body, is that one?"

"I believe this is the second. I intend to possess Sasuke-kun after he grows up and becomes a bit more to my tastes~."

"Vile monster."

"Call me what you will, but in your last moments, I'll have you die while remembering my face." Orochimaru said as his face returned to normal.

Suddenly the First Hokage made a handseal and the ground erupted in vines once more, this time engulfing the entire barrier.

"Yumi!" shouted Hiruzen.

"Ready!"

' _This is the end for you old man.'_ Orochimaru thought as the vines converged on Hiruzen and Yumi.

But suddenly...

"ICE QUEEN MODE!"

A massive swirling pillars of ice and snow erupted at Yumi's position, completely concealing her from view and freezing all nearby vines.

"What is this?!" shouted Orochimaru.

Eventually the storm subsided and Yumi could be seen again. However her appearance had changed considerably. Her hair was no longer tied up and had turned a shade of light-blue, her eyes had turned pale-red, and her skin tone was now lighter than before.

The girl let out a breath that immediately turned to frost upon hitting the air. The ambient temperature had dropped considerably and their was a cold dryness in the air. Slowly lifting her arms up from her sides, a pair of ice swords formed in them. Turning her gaze up, she glared at Orochimaru. "For your crimes, you shall sink into the depths of sleeping souls."

 **(-)**

Things weren't looking good for Sasuke. Despite hitting Gaara with another 2 chidori, the boy was still raring to go for a fight. And with the curse seal acting up, he was completely immobile. All he could do was wait for the coming attack.

" **UUOOOOHHHH!"** cried Gaara as he bared down on the Uchiha.

Suddenly, something smashed into his transformed arm.

"Vermillion Rasengan!" shouted Naruto as he slammed the destructive sphere into Gaara. It dug into his sand arm for a few moments before exploding, sending the Sand genin flying.

"Looks like we made it on time!" Naruto exclaimed as he landed on a tree branch, followed by Hinata and Shikamaru.

Gaara growled like a feral beast as he turned his sights towards Naruto. Taking a quick glance over at Sasuke, he noticed all the markings spreading across his body. "Shikamaru, check on Sasuke."

"Yay..." Shikamaru said in mock joy. "I get the easy job of taking care of the jerk."

Naruto nodded his head in approval as Shikamaru headed over to the Uchiha. He then turned his gaze towards Gaara. "Now, just what the hell are you?"

" **Kit, it's his Tailed Beast. It's running wild and taking control of his body. At this rate he might transform completely." spoke Kurama.**

' _And I'm willing to bet that's a bad thing.'_

" **You... You'Re tHe onE I fAilEd to kiLl tHaT tIme..." spoke Gaara.**

Naruto raised his brow in confusion before he realized what Gaara meant. "Shikamaru, dodge!"

The Nara quickly grabbed Sasuke and leaped to another tree as Gaara smashed the one they were previously on.

" **Sasuke Uchiha!"**

The genin put some distance between them and Gaara as he gripped his head in pain.

" **I... DoN't UnDErsTanD..."**

Seeing others willing to save someone else, to protect them, he didn't understand. His mind went back to his past when he was younger. How he was despised by everyone, feared by everyone. There were constant attempts on his life, yet the beast inside him would prevent them from being successful. He was not allowed to be harmed. A power that kept him safe, but also isolated. How his own caretaker, Yashamaru, tried to console him, and in the end betrayed him, shattering his conception of Love.

" **WHy do YoU fIghT? I FiGht fOr mYselF. WhAt ABouT yuO?"**

Naruto steeled his resolve as he answered. "I fight for my comrades! I fight for the people I care about!"

Gaara's head began to spasm about before he transformed further.

" **WHAT NONSENSE! THE ONLY PERSON YOU NEED TO CARE ABOUT... IS YOURSELF!" Gaara shouted as he swung his arms forward. "SAND SHURIKEN!"**

Naruto swung his arms in front of him. "Buredo no Arashi!" blades of wind shot forward to meet the sand shuriken, but they simply passed through. "Shit!" Naruto cursed as he and Hinata jumped away.

"It's not a good matchup kid!" yelled Pakkun. "His sand will just reform if hit by standard physical or wind based attacks."

Naruto grumbled in annoyance. _'There's got to be some way to hit him. I need to defeat him!'_ then he realized something. Gaara was just like him. They were both monsters in the eyes of their villages. _'Despised by all, looked at like I was nothing but garbage. I loathed everyone back then. It was so painful to live like that... But since then, I've made such wonderful friends.'_

" _Hey Naruto! Let's go get some ramen at Ichiraku's!"_

" _You stupid dobe, train harder if you want to beat me."_

" _Hey Naruto, did Sasuke say anything about me?"_

" _Since I'm your sensei you have to listen to me. Now start eating some vegetables or else you'll grow weak."_

" _H-hey there N-Naruto-kun."_

" _Ah, Naruto-kun! How nice of you to stop by. I was looking for a distraction from this paperwork."_

" _I want you to train me aniki!"_

 _..._

" _Hey kid, why are you out here in the rain?"_

' _I can sympathize with him. We both suffered so much. The only difference between us, is the fact that nobody was ever there for him.'_ Naruto thought as his face hardened.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata called out as she saw his face become serious.

' _Still, that doesn't mean I condone his actions. If he never had anyone to be there for him in the past... Then I'll just have to be there for him now!'_ "Hinata." Naruto spoke suddenly, startling the girl slightly.

"Y-yes?"

"We're gonna save him."

"Huh?"

"Gaara is just like me. Everyone despised him simply for existing. But unlike me, he didn't have the fortune of someone to be there for him." Naruto pointed his finger at Gaara. "So we're gonna show you the true meaning of Love! Even if we have to beat it into you!"

" **BIG TALK COMING FROM A WHELP LIKE YOURSELF. THE ONLY LOVE I NEED IS FOR MYSELF! NOW FIGHT!" Gaara shouted as he launched himself forward.**

 **(-)**

Jiraiya let out a heavy breath as he took a knee to recover for a moment. His body was covered in bruises and cuts, though nothing immediately life threatening. As he breathed out, he coughed violently. _'Damn, that's probably a broken rib.'_

Turning his gaze up, he saw the one responsible for his current condition. If this was any other time, the Sannin would probably be ogling the beauty in front of him, but he couldn't really do that when she was trying to kill him. The girl was putting up one hell of a fight and Jiraiya was forced to go all out. However it greatly annoyed him that his opponent had yet to receive any damage to her body. Her outfit on the other hand wasn't so lucky. Her top was nothing more than half a sleeve that covered her shoulder, showing off her dark-purple bra with frills. As for the bottom of her dress, it had been reduced to a tattered miniskirt that had a hole in the front which showed off her matching panties.

' _Seriously, what does it take to hurt this girl?!'_

" **You seem to be running out of breath..."**

Jiraiya tried to force himself to his feet, but found that his leg muscles were trembling from the strain. Giving his leg a good punch, he managed to divert the nerves attention for a moment so he could stand on shaky feet.

" **All I wanted was to go home, and yet you wouldn't let me. What has happened here is the result of your actions. Your death is not on my hands."**

The spectral bear paws behind Murasaki raised up in preparation to strike.

" **Die."**

"Surprise~!"

 _*boing, boing, squeeze, squeeze, bounce, bounce, jiggle, jiggle*_

"Ahhn!"

Jiraiya had to suppress the nosebleed that was threatening to happen as he watched the scene play out in front of him. Out of nowhere, a blonde girl had shown up (wearing an open shirt with no bra!) and was currently molesting Murasaki with the groping technique of a master.

"There they are! The biggest pair of boobs in all the lands! It's been awhile since I last got a handful of these~." giggled the blonde as she felt up the dark girl.

"Ahh! S-stop it!" Murasaki begged, the dark aura around her along with the bear paws having thankfully disappeared.

"No way! I've been searching all over for the others so I haven't had my fix of skinship in a long time~." the blonde said with a dreamy expression as she continued her assault.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing with someone elses sister?!" came the voice of Imu. Moments later she landed on the same roof along with Hikage.

"Come on! You can't expect me to pass up such a fine opportunity to satisfy my urges. Unless... you want to offer yourself up instead~?"

"No way in hell Katsuragi! Now let my sister go!" Imu demanded as she jabbed her staff towards the blonde.

Contrary to logic, for some reason Katsuragi is much faster and evasive when in pervy-old man mode than in actual combat. So it was no trouble for her to duck under Imu's attack and rush past her, her hands reaching under the girls skirt in the process.

Suddenly Imu froze stiff. Her face turned bright red as she felt a draft on her lower extremities that wasn't there before. Slowly turning around, she hoped what she thought hadn't come to pass.

"Eh, not wearing boxers for a change huh?" stated Katsuragi as she examined the pair of panties in her hands, holding them up to examine them. "Still, it's not like camo cotton panties are much sexier."

Imu immediately turned into a stuttering mess as she used her hands to keep her skirt down. "W-W-W-W-WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! Using shinobi arts to steal someone's undergarments?! Have you no shame?!"

Katsuragi shrugged. "Don't you know Imu? Dignity, honor, and pride are the first casualties of war. Followed closely by bras and panties~."

"GIVE THEM BACK!" shouted Imu as she did her best to chase after Katsuragi despite her predicament.

"You'll have to catch me first~!" the blonde responded as she wore the panties on her head.

Meanwhile both Murasaki and Hikage let out a slight sigh of exasperation. "Such a bothersome person."

Meanwhile, Jiraiya's brain finally managed to reboot from the crazy scene in front of him. "Uh, what just happened?"

"Oh, Katsuragi is always like that. She looks like a girl but acts like a dirty-old man." answered Hikage.

"Okay... Wait, why did we stop fighting?"

"Because there was no reason to. We we're just putting on a show for the Sand and Smell." responded Hikage.

"Sound." corrected Jiraiya. "And wait, what do you mean you were putting it on for them?"

This time it was Murasaki who answered. "We found out that my teams squad leader was located in Konoha, so when Orochimaru hired me and my sister, we plotted to betray him..." the girl spoke tiredly. "I wanted to go find her, but you wouldn't let me leave..."

"Wait, so you weren't after Sasuke?"

Murasaki tilted her head in confusion. "Who?"

Almost as if he was a puppet whose strings had been cut, Jiraiya collapsed onto the roof in exhaustion. "You just can't write this..."

 **(-)**

Orochimaru was immediately on edge the moment that Yumi came out of the frozen storm. Her chakra levels had skyrockted and the temperature plummeted. Even from his current distance his breath was visible. Not to mention her change in appearance.

' _What kind of jutsu is this?'_

"You are unfortunate, Orochimaru." spoke Yumi. "Now that I have transformed, your defeat is guaranteed. As I am now, all moisture is under my control."

"Tch, just a minor setback."

"Are you ready for what comes next? I really don't think your are." Yumi said as she stepped forward. "Sarutobi-san, I advise you to step back."

The Hokage did as instructed. Even he could tell how dangerous Yumi was right now. He could almost feel the blood in his veins freeze and his breath was more like short gasps.

"Frantic Mode: Final Release." Yumi stated. Suddenly all her clothes tore away, leaving her completely naked. And it was at that moment that Orochimaru finally felt like he was in over his head.

"Get her-" he started to order the revived Kage, only to be shocked as one of Yumi's swords was already stabbed through the stomach of the First. The Second quickly tried to perform the handseals for a jutsu, but Yumi brought the second sword down and sunk it deep into his shoulder.

Orochimaru quickly retreated as far away from Yumi as possible. It was only thanks to years of experience that he was able to bring his sword up in time to block the new ice sword that Yumi created. The two blades clashed and locked with one another.

"What a dangerous move." spoke the rouge Sannin with interest, however it was merely to hide his nervousness. "And so powerful too, I can't wait to get my hands on it."

"That will not happen. You have been defeated." spoke Yumi.

"What are you talking abo-"

Then he noticed it. The two Kage weren't coming to help. Shifting his gaze past Yumi, he saw that they had frozen solid, the point of origin being the swords.

"Flash Freeze." spoke Yumi.

Orochimaru quickly pulled his hands back as he saw ice rush down his sword. But he was a second too late. The ice had already encased his hands, but he was fortunate enough to break contact before it went further up his arms.

"What the hell is this?!" he shouted. "I can't move my hands!"

"And you never will again." spoke Yumi.

As Orochimaru looked up from his hands, he saw Yumi's appearance quickly revert back to normal, save she was still naked, and fell to the ground.

"Flash Freeze is a technique that freezes whatever it touches without fail. The ice will never shatter or melt. That is guaranteed." Yumi said as she looked up at Orochimaru with a smirk. "You will never be able to perform a jutsu ever again."

"You bitch! Give me back my hands!" Orochimaru shouted as he tried to stomp on Yumi's face, only to have Hiruzen block it with his staff.

"Even in my old age and exhausted state, I'm sure that as things are now I will defeat you without fail." spoke the Hokage.

Orochimaru was seething with anger. He was so close to accomplishing his goal, and then the girl had to fuck it all up!

"Lord Orochimaru!" shouted one of the Sound-nin maintaining the barrier.

"Grr... It's over! Time to retreat!" ordered the Sannin.

"I won't let you!" yelled Hiruzen. However he was too slow and one of the Sound-nin grabbed Orochimaru before taking off.

Seeing that he wouldn't be able to catch up, he chose to check up on Yumi. "You alright kid?"

Yumi's breathing was erratic, but she showed not external injuries. "Normally Flash Freeze is a technique that I can only use once during my transformation. I had to push my limits to pull it off three times." she answered as she turned her gaze to the two frozen Kage. "Don't worry, what I said about the ice is true. The only way for it to melt would be if I will it to. Other than that, you would need a specialist who is experienced in the proper field. But never mind that, are you okay?"

Hiruzen held his hand against the cut on his shoulder to staunch the bleeding. "I'm still breathing aren't I? I think I'll chalk that up as a victory." he said as he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "I really need to retire soon..."

 **(-)**

"Rasengan!"

" **DIE ALREADY YOU WEAKLING!"**

"Naruto-kun, duck!" shouted Hinata as she threw a spear of lightning at Gaara. The voltaic lance soared over Naruto's head and slammed into Gaara's chest, causing the sand to blow away and reveal his actual body.

Naruto then slammed his rasengan into the exposed chest and sent Gaara flying through several trees.

"Did you get him?" asked Shikamaru from the side.

" **YOU ANNOYING LITTLE INSECTS!"**

"Didn't think so." Shikamaru grumbled.

" **YOU FOOLS KEEP GOING ON ABOUT LOVE AND FIGHTING FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS, BUT IN THE END THAT WILL ONLY DRAG YOU DOWN! IF YOU TRULY DESIRE STRENGTH, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FOR YOURSELF!"**

"You're wrong Gaara." Naruto replied. "Real strength isn't obtained by fighting only for oneself. Only when you have something special that you want to protect... Only _then_ can you become strong!"

" **SUCH FOOLISHNESS! YOU CAN ONLY GET SOMEWHERE IN LIFE BY PLAYING FOR KEEPS!" Gaara shouted before grasping at his head again. "I CAN'T LOSE... I WON'T LOSE... I WILL KILL YOU!"**

Suddenly sand poured out from everywhere. It all converged on Gaara's position before growing into a massive form that towered over the trees.

"How is that fair?!" shouted Naruto.

"Uh guys, I think it's about time we high-tailed it out of here." suggested Shikamaru.

"No way in hell! We're taking him down!" responded Naruto.

"B-but Naruto-kun," Hinata started.

"Even if we try to flee, it's not like we'll get very far. If we want to get out of this alive, we need to stop him." the blonde said with resolve.

Hinata looked down and pressed her fingers together. "N-Naruto-kun... I'm scared."

Naruto then turned around and put a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Don't worry Hinata, I'll keep you safe!" he said with a big grin.

' _Naruto-kun...'_ Hinata thought as she started to lean forward.

"Huh? Hinata, what are you do-" he was silenced as a soft pair of lips met his own. For the first time in forever, Naruto had no idea how to react.

Eventually the girl pulled away, a heavy blush on her face. "I-I'm sorry... I just-"

"Guys! This ain't the time or place for a makeout session!" shouted Shikamaru.

The two genin quickly jumped out of the way of a rain of sand that threatened to consume them.

"Right! We'll sort things out later. For now we need to deal with him." Naruto said as he observed the giant sand tanuki.

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" asked the Nara.

"Actually," Naruto said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "I was hoping you would have an idea."

Shikamaru's head slumped down. "Of course..." he lamented. He raised his gaze up to the beast in order to formulate a plan. Then he noticed it. "Look, there!" she said as he pointed at the beasts head. Naruto and Hinata looked at where Shikamaru was pointing and saw Gaara's actual body protruding from the beasts forehead. "I bet he's controlling it from there. If we can't take him out, the beast should disperse."

"B-but how do we g-get up there?"

"Leave it to me!" Naruto said as he bit his thumb. _'Gonna need to borrow some of your chakra.'_

" **Alright kit, let's do this."**

"Summoning Arts!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his palm down. An enormous plume of smoke erupted skyward from their position. When it finally cleared, it revealed an enormous fox that looked similar to Naruto's regular summons. However instead of just having light-brown fur, it had red markings going along the length of its body that resembled fire. Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru were riding on the top of its head. "Now the playing field's even!"

"H-how did you summon this Naruto-kun?!"

"The class clown is always pulling off the most ridiculous things."

The giant fox let out a low growl as it eyed the sand monster. "What this? Who summoned me?" asked the giant vulpine.

"That would be me!" answered Naruto as he jumped down onto the foxes nose. "I need your help to deal with big ugly over there."

"Hmm... Well, you're in luck kid. I was getting antsy waiting for another fight." the fox said as Naruto jumped back on its head. "So just this one time, I'll aid you without any strings attached."

"Alright!" Naruto fist pumped.

"I am the Great Fox Shinku, Lord of the Flame!" bellowed the fox. "And I shall be your opponent!"

The two beasts charged and clashed, Shinku's claws digging into the sand beings body. Sand erupted from the beasts body and knocked Shinku away, the genin on his head holding onto his fur for dear life.

"Was that all? Pathetic!" shouted the fox as he took a deep breath.

"Hey, what's he doing?!" yelled Shikamaru.

"Fox Fire!" roared Shinku as a powerful blaze erupted from his mouth. The fire surged forth towards the sand beast and engulfed it completely, along with burning down the majority of the surrounding trees.

"Can you _try_ not to start a forest fire?!" shouted the Nara.

"Don't question my methods, question my results." replied Shinku.

"I _am_ questioning your results!"

" **RAAAGGHHHH!"**

"Figured that wouldn't be enough." huffed Shinku.

" **I tHank yUo foR keEpiNg me eNterTainEd so fAr." came Gaara's actual voice from his spot on the beasts head. "NoW I'lL sHow You tHe trUe poWeR of ThE SaNd DemOn." Gaara then used a jutsu to put himself to sleep and give control over to the Tailed Beast.**

" **AHA! I'M FINALLY OUT!** " **bellowed Shuukaku. "AND LOOK! HERE'S SOMEONE I WANT TO KILL RIGHT OFF THE BAT~!" Shuukaku took in a deep breath. "FUUTON,"**

"Dodge!" shouted Naruto.

" **RENKUUDAN!"**

A giant blast of sand and wind shot out of the tanuki's mouth, tearing apart the landscape on its way to Shinku. The fox jumped out of the way at the last moment and prepared to counter. It's tail rose up and pointed at Shuukaku.

"Fire Shot!"

A precise stream of fire shot from the tip of Shinku's tail and blew a small hole through the tanuki, although it quickly undid the damage.

" **THAT HURT YOU BASTARD!" roared Shuukaku. "ALLOW ME TO PAY YOU BACK IN FULL!"**

"Here it comes!" Naruto yelled as he braced for impact.

" **FUUTON: RENKUUDAN!"**

"Fox Fire!" Shinku let out another blast of fire, this time directed at the sand bullet. The two attacks clashed and set off an explosion. The sand was instantly glassed and began raining down on the forest below.

" **GOT YOU, YOU BASTARD!" roared Shuukaku.**

Seconds later a form emerged from the smoke.

"Not on your life you upstart sand rat!" yelled Shinku as he bore down on Shuukaku. The giant fox bit into the beasts shoulder and raked its claws along its sides. "Get him!"

"Right!" the three genin said in unison.

Jumping off Shinku, they ran across Shuukaku's head until they reached Gaara's body.

"Time to wake up!" Naruto shouted as he punched Gaara in the face.

Gaara's eyes snapped open and he looked absolutely livid. With a simple hand gesture he sent out a shock-wave of sand that sent the genin tumbling back.

"Damn! Now we got to deal with him!" as Naruto took a step forward, he found that his foot was sinking into the sand. "What the?!"

"Don't worry Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she pressed her palms against the sand. Sending a powerful discharge of electricity through the sand, she was able to shock the jutsus connection with it and cause it to release them.

"Thanks! Now let's go!" Naruto commanded as they charged Gaara.

"DIE!" the sand-nin shouted as he made a handseal. The sand around him swirled to life and formed into tendrils that were poised to strike the genin. They shot forward at Gaara's command with intent to kill.

"Shikamaru!" yelled Naruto.

"On it!" the lazy ninja answered as he commanded his shadow to form a wall in front of them for protection. He then pushed it forward as they continued their approach. Once they were close enough, he dropped it in order to attack.

"STAY BACK!" yelled Gaara as he erected a wall of sand to protect himself.

"Hinata!"

"Right!" the heiress nodded as she charged her hands with lightning. Her palms shot forward and slammed into the wall of sand, blowing a hole in it for Naruto to go through.

"It's over!" shouted Naruto as he reared back his fist. Punching forward, the attack was caught by Gaara's own hand.

"NOT YET IT ISN'T!"

"YES IT IS!" Naruto screamed as he headbutted Gaara with all his might.

His two fellow genin watched as the entire sand beast began to crumble, starting with Gaara's position. All four ninja plummeted from the air and landed in the trees below.

"That was a pretty good battle kid." Shinku said. "Be sure to give me a call again some time. But if you summon me for a fight that's pathetic... Well, just don't summon me. And you won't have to find out." and with that, Shinku disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As Naruto stood up from the branch he was on, he looked across to see a battered and tired Gaara. Though the kid was still glaring kunai at him. Sure, Naruto had used up quite a bit of energy during the fight, but he was still in moderately better condition than the sand-nin.

"It's over Gaara. You've lost. Surely you know that by now." Naruto spoke.

The boy growled in response. He still intended to fight.

"I see..." Naruto said with a hint of melancholy. "We're the same, you and I. Suffering from the same curse of isolation... Let's end this, once and for all."

Gaara knew his chances of winning were now in the single digits, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying. Until he can no longer move, he would fight on.

Gaara jumped.

Naruto jumped.

Gaara pulled back his arm.

Naruto pulled back his arm.

Gaara swung his fist.

Naruto swung his fist.

Everyone watched with baited breath for the result. Hinata, Shikamaru, Pakkun (who was still around), and Sasuke (who everyone forgot about. but not as forgotten as Shino.)

 _The fire of the shadow illuminates the village. And so... a new leaf sprouts._

Their fists connected. Gaara's with Naruto's face, Naruto's with Gaara's face. Gaara's punch fell apart on impact from his weakened state. Naruto's struck true and sent Gaara flying.

As the two landed on the ground beneath, Naruto on his feet and Gaara on his back, their was a palpable silence in the air. Gaara gazed at Naruto with contempt.

"My existence won't be put out... It won't be put out!" cried the Suna boy.

Naruto started taking tentative steps forward.

"S-stay away... Don't come any closer!" Gaara shouted in fear.

Naruto took a knee as he reached Gaara's side. When the sand-nin looked up, he saw Naruto was crying.

"Being alone... Being incomplete... What you must feel... What your pain must be, I understand that..." Naruto said as he wiped away the tears. "But, for the people who are precious to me, if you hurt them... then I will stop you." the blonde said firmly.

"What the...?" muttered Gaara in disbelief. "Until now, for the sake of the people, you..."

"Because they rescued me from the hell of being alone. They acknowledged my existence. That's why they are all the more important. More than even myself," Naruto said as he stood up, hearing his teammates land behind him. "I fight for those I hold dear, never for myself." he then turned and smiled at Hinata and Shikamaru. Hinata gave a bright smile in return, while Shikamaru gave a weak one that still conveyed his feelings.

" _Needing those close to you. An affectionate heart that gives all of itself for those important people, and is watching over them."_

The words of Yashamaru rang in his head as he watched Naruto walk off.

"Is this... Love...?"

Sasuke finally managed to stumble his way over and glared at Gaara. He took a step forward, but stopped when Naruto blocked his path with his arm. "What do you think you're doing dobe?"

"It's over. The fight has ended."

"Tch, you seem to forget, it is _his_ village that attacked ours." Sasuke growled.

"And now he has been beaten. He is no longer a threat."

"Listen you-!" Sasuke started as he grabbed Naruto by the collar. It was then that Temari and Kankuro arrived at Gaara's side, everyone tensing up for a fight.

However, it was the most unlikely person who put a stop to things before they could escalate.

"That's enough..." came Gaara's weak voice. "We are leaving..."

"R-right." nodded Kankuro as he picked his brother up.

Gaara gave one last look to Naruto before they sped off.

"Finally." groaned Shikamaru. "We're done with all this."

Moments later, Miyabi landed in the clearing, followed closely behind by Sakura who was using her as a shield for some reason. The white-haired woman looked rather miffed as she stomped her way over to Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"Never mind that." Miyabi interrupted. "Tell me you three, what were my exact orders?" she asked sternly.

"'You are only to retrieve Sasuke. Anything else is unnecessary.'" answered Shikamaru.

Miyabi nodded. "Correct... Where in there did I say to fight a giant sand tanuki?!"

Everyone covered their ears as Miyabi yelled.

"What is it with me and women?" Shikamaru lamented.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?! You could have gotten yourselves killed fighting something like that!" she went on as she made her way over to the trio and stood in directly in front of them. "I should punish you all right here."

The three genin flinched as they prepared themselves to get hit. Only to be surprised when Miyabi pulled all three into a hug.

"I'm glad you're all okay." she whispered.

"Y-you're not mad?" asked Naruto.

Miyabi pulled back and stared down at the three ninja. "Oh, I'm mad all right." her face then softened. "But I'm even more glad that you're unharmed."

"I'm sorry Miyabi-nee-san." Naruto apologized as he hung his head.

"Well, either way, you guys did pretty good handling that thing. Good job." she nodded in approval, causing the three to beam. "But... if you ever do something out of your depth again, there will be consequences." she said darkly.

"G-got it." the three said as they quickly nodded their heads.

"Hey! How come they got off without a punishment?!" demanded Sakura.

"Because one; they were able to handle their own problem. And two, I like you a lot less than them." answered Miyabi.

"That's not fair!"

Finally having the attention turned towards her, the others noticed Sakura's predicament.

"Sakura! W-why aren't you wearing any pants?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I confiscated them as punishment." answered Miyabi. "Since she disobeyed my orders and followed us, she got caught by the enemy. So I had to spend extra time I could have used to get here faster on rescuing and escorting her here."

"Isn't that a bit cruel Miyabi-san?" asked Hinata quietly.

"I think it's quite appropriate. Just as effective as physical punishment as well."

Sakura let out a quiet curse before turning her attention to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, you're alright!"

The Uchiha merely turned his head away. "Hnn."

"I bet you were totally cool during the fight. You must've been the one to finish that thing off." Sakura said dreamily, trying to ignore her current state of dress.

"Actually, it was all us." Naruto said as he pointed to himself, Shikamaru, and Hinata.

"Yeah right! That's just like you Naruto, trying to take Sasuke's glory."

"What?! This coming from the girl who got captured! I aught to..."

As the two bickered a vein throbbed on Miyabi's head. She couldn't remember the last time someone grated on her nerves as much as Sakura was. The girl had a one-track mind, and it was all about Sasuke.

' _Time to teach fangirl another lesson.'_ Miyabi thought as she snuck up behind the kunoichi. Raising her hand, she lit a small flame on the tip of her finger. It wasn't much, just enough to give someone a minor burn that would heal quickly. But it was the reaction she wanted. Pressing the digit to the back of Sakura's neck, the pinkette let out a squeal as her hands left her shirt to grasp at the source of pain. Then Miyabi made her move. Reaching down, she grabbed the front hem of Sakura's long shirt and, in one swift motion, tore off the bottom half.

Everyone was left speechless. For Sakura's new level of exposure revealed that not only was she bereft of pants, but her undergarments were gone as well. Her womanhood was now on open display for all present. Face quickly turning an even deeper shade of pink than before, her hands shot done to preserve her modesty, but it was too late. All had already taken a mental picture of it.

"KYAAAAA! What are you doing?!" cried Sakura as Miyabi swung the piece of cloth about.

"You were pissing me off, so I decided to increase your punishment." she answered nonchalantly.

All three boys had varying levels of a nosebleed, while Hinata covered her eyes and curled into a ball, feeling embarrassment for Sakura herself.

"Hnn."

"That was awesome..."

"C-cover up Sakura!"

"So, people can be born with naturally pink hair."

"Gahh! Stop talking!"

"Alright, time to head back to the village." Miyabi said as she began to lead the way back. "And if any of you are feeling compassionate enough to offer fangirl some cover, then you'll be joining her."

 **(-)**

 **Jutsu index.**

 **Demolishing Thunder- Imu aims her staff at her target and by pressing her palm against its end, is able to make quickly extend its length and overall size, destroying anything in its path.**

 **Flash Freeze- Only available during Ice Queen mode, Yumi creates a special sword of ice that is made from a mix of nature energy and ice. By making contact with the target, she is able to quickly freeze whatever the blade touches. However each blade can only freeze one thing, or a large area, and the blade must remain in contact for the duration of the attack.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- RAAAGGHHHHH! CONTENT OVERLOAD!**

 **This train is going full speed and I don't plan on stopping! Another chapter in record time!**

 **Things are finally starting to settle down after the attack and everyone's trying to pick up the pieces. I expect the next 2 chapters to be more down time stuff as well as Itachi and Kisame finally making their move. Once I get everything done that I want, then I'll move on to the Search for Tsunade arc.**

 **I don't want to give too many spoilers, but I have a LOT of ideas for coming events.**

 **Again, I do plan on adding omake's at the end of these chapters, but right now I want to keep writing actual story content while I have the momentum.**

 **Feel like I'm forgetting something, but I always am. :(**

 **I hope you enjoy and be sure to leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

Standing atop the perimeter wall of Konahagakure were two figures. They both observed the village below as it began to lick its wounds from the attack that had just been repelled. People were scrambling around to deal with the wounded and mop up any stragglers. Smoke was still billowing from several fires throughout the village, evidence of the substantial damage it had received.

Both of the figures were dressed in similar outfits. Large black overcoats that were decorated with red clouds. Their hats had ribbons hanging down from the majority of the rim, allowing them to hide their faces for the most part. But there was still a little bit visible. The taller of the two had a massive sword strapped to his back that was wrapped in bandages. His face was reminiscent of a shark, what with the blueish skin, sharp teeth, and gills below his eyes. The second person was about a head shorter than the first, but other than that the only noticeably feature about him was his red eyes with the sharingan spinning in them.

The fish-man let out a chuckle. "Well, I guess we don't need to destroy what's already suffered a lot of damage... What do you think?" he asked his partner without shifting his gaze.

"The village is at the end of its prosperity... There's nothing to be gained by destroying it any further. Nor does that mean we should feel sorry for it."

The fish-man grinned as his partner went silent. "Actually, you still miss your village, don't you?"

"No... Not at all." the man answered as he turned his back to the village. "Let's go. Although they are still scrambling from the attack, they are on guard now more than ever. If we make our move now then things will get more difficult than they need to be."

The fish-man shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Whatever you say..."

 **(-)**

As soon as the barrier erected by the Sound-nin had dispersed, the village's anbu rushed in to determine the condition of their Hokage. The lead anbu spotted him lying on the ground next to Yumi with Enma watching over them.

"Hokage-sama!" he exclaimed as he rushed to the Third's side.

The old man let out a slight groan of pain as he tried to sit up. "Urgh... I'm alright... Still breathing at least." he answered before falling back down. "Check on Yumi. She used up a lot of chakra at the end there."

The anbu lifted his head up to see the naked girl lying nearby. "Her?"

"Yes... She's probably suffering from chakra exhaustion... Get her treated as soon as possible. If it weren't for her I'd probably be dead."

"On it." nodded the ninja. "Duck, Monkey, take care of the girl." he then helped Hiruzen to his feet.

"The attack... Is it over?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. The attacking forces have retreated and we are now dealing with any stragglers."

Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh. "Good... It's finally over... Now get me back to the tower, I need to address the people."

"But Hokage-sama, your shoulder..."

"Just a flesh wound. Nothing fatal... The people need to know I'm alive and well." he replied as they started to walk in the direction of the Hokage's tower.

 **(-)**

As Miyabi's group returned to the village, Sakura immediately took off to find cover before her nudity was exposed to anyone else. If Ino found out, she would never hear the end of it. Meanwhile Sasuke was being supported by Miyabi in order to stand.

"T-that was a p-pretty cool summons back there Naruto-kun." spoke Hinata.

"Yeah, just what the hell was that thing?" asked Shikamaru.

"I don't really know." Naruto answered as he clasped his hands behind his head. "I never tried for a summon like that before. All I know is that his name was Shinku."

Miyabi stopped in her tracks for a moment. "Wait, you summoned Shinku? The Lord of Flame?"

"Yeah. Why, is that a bad thing?"

The elder ninja wiped a hand down her face. "Of all the foxes you could have summoned, it just had to be him." she groaned. "You're even more lucky that you came out alive than I thought."

"D-does that m-mean Shinku is d-dangerous?" asked Hinata.

Miyabi let out a slight sigh. "In a way. You see, Shinku isn't exactly a fox in the normal sense. He's what you call a yoko, a spirit fox. Yoko are beings that act as messengers between the Gods and humans. And the fire they create is the most powerful in existence. Even among the yoko, Shinku is particularly notorious. He was there since the beginning, the last of the original yoko. Due to his long lifespan he eventually grew bored of the mundane and turned into something of a thrill seeker, always looking forward to the next challenge. As such, he doesn't like it if you waste his time. If you summoned him for something beneath him, he would be liable to eat you instead." the woman said seriously.

All three genin swallowed hard at that.

"Even among those capable of fox summons, only about one person every century has the ability to summon Shinku. Turns out that person is you." she said as she looked at Naruto. "Just don't make the mistake some of your predecessors made."

"I promise I won't Miyabi-nee-san!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

The white-haired woman gave a little smile at Naruto's antics. "If my teammate was here, I could have you study under her for the fox summons. She has the same spirit animal after all." she mused before pushing on. "But let's not worry about that right now. We need to get dark and brooding here to cyclops." she said as she jostled Sasuke, who let out a grumble of annoyance.

Making their way back to the stadium, the were greeted by a sight that looked like it just went through WW3. The audience members had been woken up and escorted from the area to a more secure place. Casting her gaze down, Miyabi locked eyes with Kakashi. The man was standing alongside bowl cut, and another man with eyes like Hinata.

"Miyabi!" he called out as he waved them over.

"Looks like you handled things here pretty well cyclops." the woman said with a nod of approval. "You too bowl cut."

"Gah! Curse you and your young hipster nicknames!" Gai cried as he trembled in annoyance.

It was then that Kakashi noticed the curse mark on Sasuke had spread. Letting out an exhausted sigh, Kakashi walked over to Miyabi and took the Uchiha from her. "Looks like I still got more work ahead of me."

"By the way, you should keep an eye on fangirl the next time you see her." informed Miyabi.

"Huh? Sakura? Isn't she over..." he trailed off as he looked for any sign of the pinkette. "... Somewhere?"

Miyabi rolled her eyes. "Fangirl decided to go against our orders and followed us in order to 'help'. Unfortunately she was caught by our pursuers and I had to waste time rescuing her."

Kakashi sighed again. "I'm starting to regret my career choice."

"Given how your tardiness is known even to me, I'd say so." spoke the Hyuuga man. He then turned to Miyabi. "Was my daughter injured?"

Waving him off, Miyabi responded with, "Fortunately not. Although I will say that she did an amazing job on our impromptu mission. She aided Naruto and Shikamaru in taking down a giant sand tanuki. And I know how crazy that sounds, but it's true."

The man rubbed his chin in contemplation. "I see... Come along Hinata." the man said as he gestured for the girl to follow. "We must return to the compound and restore order."

Hinata's eyes darted back and forth between Naruto and her father. She wanted to talk with Naruto about what happened earlier, but she didn't want to disobey her father. In the end she chose to walk over to the Hyuuga patriarch.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Miyabi-san. I would like a more detailed report about my daughters performance in the near future. Just come to the Hyuuga compound and say you are there to meet with Hiashi Hyuuga." spoke said man.

"Sure." Miyabi replied before turning to Shikamaru. "Now, time to find your te-"

"GIVE THEM BACK!" came a scream.

Moments later, the nearby wall of the arena exploded inwards and a girl came rushing through it.

"You gotta be faster if you want them back~!" the girl teased as she jumped over the group in her way.

At this point everyone was able to make out the girls appearance. Blonde hair, open white shirt with no bra, blue plaid skirt, and black and gold metal boots. However the most outrageous thing about her was the fact that she was wearing a pair of camo patterned panties on her head.

"GET BACK HERE KATSURAGI!" shouted the second girl as she charged after her. As she passed by the group, Miyabi called out to her.

"Imu!" she exclaimed in surprise.

Suddenly the girl came to a halt, forgetting all about the person she was chasing. Quickly turning her head around, she spotted the white-haired woman.

"Miyabi-san!" she cried as she ran over to the person in question. Stopping immediately once she reached arms length away, she held her hands together, almost like she was in prayer, and smiled brightly at the woman. "I finally found you!"

Miyabi reached out and put a hand on the girls shoulder. "Good to finally see you again Imu."

"Hahh, Miyabi-san~. It feels so good to have found you." the girl swooned at the physical contact.

"Aren't you forgetting about someone~?" came Katsuragi's voice as she snuck up behind Imu. "Up we go~!" she exclaimed as she flipped up Imu's skirt, revealing to all present that the panties Katsuragi was wearing were hers.

"K-KYAAAAA!" cried Imu as she quickly flattened her skirt down, but not before everyone got an eyeful. Turning slowly, her fist was trembling with rage. "Ka-tsu-ra-gi..." she growled out slowly.

"Annnnnd I'm outta here!" spoke the blonde as she took off once more with Imu in hot pursuit.

Everyone present simply stood still and remained quiet as they watched the duo disappear into the distance. Eventually the silence was broken.

"Why is it that every woman I meet is trouble?" spoke Shikamaru.

 **(-)**

After dropping Jiraiya off at the hospital to be treated for his injuries, Hikage and Murasaki made their way to a secluded rooftop near the stadium. Once there, Hikage pulled out one of her signal flares and fired it up into the sky. If it was a normal flare then it would have attracted the attention of everyone who could see it. But it was a specialized flare that only the shinobi like them could see. Moments later they were joined by Miyabi, Imu, and a bruised Katsuragi.

"T-totally worth it..." the blonde muttered weakly.

Imu let out a huff of annoyance before turning her attention forward. "So, here we are. Everyone's accounted for, at least those that saw the flare."

"Wrong." Miyabi spoke up. "Yumi isn't here."

"So she was in town too?" Hikage asked.

Miyabi nodded. "Yes. It was me and her that first arrived. After we found each other in the forest, we headed towards the nearest form of civilization. That happend to be Konoha. After that, we decided to go about our own business until we could formulate a plan."

"So where is she...?" asked Murasaki.

"I'd wager a guess at the hospital." answered Imu. "While I was chasing this pervert,"

"Hey!"

"I saw some med-nin rushing someone towards the hospital. I couldn't see who it was, but there was a serious chill in the air."

"That's her alright." spoke Katsuragi. "I hope she gets out soon. Her boobs always have a comforting chill to the touch~."

The rest of the girls, save Hikage, gave the blonde an 'Are you kidding me?' look.

The white-haired member of the group coughed into her hand to regain attention. "Well, now that this distraction of a 'war' is over, we'll need to decide on our next plan of action. Has anyone heard word about the rest of us?"

"There was talk of a rather impressive med-nin who was taking in patients for free. Along with her kind assistant. Any ideas?" spoke Katsuragi.

"Hmm, it could be _them_ , but we'll have to send someone to be sure." spoke Miyabi.

"Yeah, but word is that they're constantly on the move. It'll be hard to pin them down." added the blonde.

"So we need someone fast who can catch up with their movements." muttered Imu.

All eyes then turned to Katsuragi.

"What?"

"You're the fastest one here. With your Dragon Rebellion you'll be able to fly across any obstacles."

"I guess so... But I want to stay here and spend some time with everyone ('s boobs)." pouted Katsuragi.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Miyabi decided to cut the blonde some slack. "Okay, once things settle down and we can pin the med-nins next location, then you leave."

"Gotcha!" Katsuragi said with a thumbs up.

"But for now, I think we need to figure out our living arrangements." Imu pointed out. "Me and Murasaki have enough ryo to rent an apartment in town. It won't be anything luxurious, but it will suffice."

"I found a nice bench in the park to sleep on." spoke Hikage.

"Yeah, you'll need something more than that." Katsuragi stated bluntly.

"Hmm, maybe I can ask my student if he can spare some room in his compound. Apparently he's the heir of one of the major clans in the village."

"Score!" the blonde fist pumped. "I call dibs on staying with Hikage!"

"Hnn..."

"As for me, I'm staying in an apartment downtown. Though the kid I'm teaching is staying with me." spoke Miyabi.

Imu's face dropped. "Y-y-you're living with someone else?!" she shouted in disbelief (and jealousy).

"The kid is basically the towns pariah. If anything bad happens they blame it on him. According to the information I managed to pick up, he was often chased by lynch mobs even at the young age of 5. When I saw him locked out of his apartment in the rain... I just couldn't stand by and watch him suffer. So I took him in." Miyabi sighed. "Biggest mistake I've made in a while." she said with a fond smile that belied her words.

"To be hated since he was a child... What could cause such a thing?" asked Murasaki.

"Apparently everyone thinks he's the human form of the demon fox that attacked the village years ago. He was the only child to be born that day, so they chose him as the target of their hatred. Many died that day, and they all wanted someone to vent at." explained Miyabi. "And yet, the kid marches on with a smile. Dreaming to become the villages Hokage so everyone will finally acknowledge him."

"Wait... He was the only one born on the day of the attack?" asked Imu.

Miyabi seemed to already know where she was going. "He's a jinchuuriki, I'm all but certain of that." answered Imu. "The whisker marks on his cheeks, the powerful chakra in his body, his spirit animal being the fox, hell, he even managed to accidentally summon Shinku and survive."

"Damn, that's pretty badass." remarked Katsuragi.

"Yes well, we seem to have gotten off topic." interrupted Imu as she pushed up her glasses. "For now we will wait for things to settle down before moving forward."

"Agreed. Though I will need you all to come with me to see the Hokage." spoke Miyabi.

"Why is that...?"

"Well first, he needs to know you're not enemies. Second, you won't be able to remain under the radar for very long."

In the distance, the girls could see the large crowd gathering at the Hokage's tower. No doubt the Third was there to address the people and announce the end of the battle.

"Harden your resolve girls." the white-haired woman said as she clenched a fist. "This is the start of something big. The opening salvo of a struggle that will throw the entire world into disarray... From here on out, things are only going to get tougher."

 **(-)**

It was the day after the attack and everyone was doing there best to return to normalcy. There would be a funeral held in a few days to honor the lives lost during the attack. But until then, the village would have to just pick up the pieces as best they could.

Surprisingly enough, the Hokage was up and about despite his injuries, although his current location was the hospital. He had some people to check up on. Entering the patient room in front of him, he couldn't suppress a chuckle at the sight of his student. Covered from head to toe in bandages, the Toad Sage looked more mummy than man.

"And here I thought the only woman who could put you in the hospital was Tsunade."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. That Murasaki was not your average woman." grumbled the Sannin.

"Indeed she wasn't." the Hokage said as he took a seat next to Jiraiya's bed. "Quite the power she has. Though she and her friends told me of it, they made me swear to keep it a secret."

"You met them?"

"Just this morning actually." answered the old man. "It seems that we are now playing host to 6 of them. Three of which have taken some of our genin under their wings."

"What do you mean by 'them'?"

Hiruzen's face hardened. "I'm sure that you can tell from your brief interaction with them that they are not your average kunoichi."

"No kidding." remarked Jiraiya. "The blonde stole the glasses girls panties right in front of me~." he said with a perverted grin and a bit of blood dripping from his nose.

Hiruzen quickly shook the image from his head lest he look like a fool. "T-that's not exactly what I meant. I mean that they're fundamentally different from us."

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, there was something off about their jutsus and abilities. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

The Hokage grunted as he thought of what to say. "... I can't give you the details. As of now, their purpose is an A-rank secret. Though they are technically not allied with the Leaf, they are willing to lend us their services in exchange for help."

"... Can we trust them?"

Hiruzen grunted in affirmation. "One of them saved me from dying at Orochimaru's hands. If she wasn't there to help me, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Of that I'm sure. So yes, I believe that they can be trusted."

Jiraiya let out a breath before turning to look out the window to watch everyone start rebuilding. "I'll trust your judgement sensei."

"Good. Now, tell me what you know about _them._ "

 **(-)**

In a dimly lit office of a heavily guarded building sat Danzo Shimura, the leader of the organization Root. He was going over the post-battle reports from the recent attack on the village. Even though the battle had ended only a day prior, his subordinates that were stationed throughout the village had already managed to snatch up as much information as they could. Danzo was of the mind that the sooner you get info, whether reliable or not, would still be useful to future planning. Not that his intel was ever wrong. He made sure that his Root members were extensively trained in the art of gathering information.

The old man let out a thoughtful hum as he went over the comprehensive reports. "It seems that Hiruzen is keeping things from me again." he mused as he reached the part about the girl with the hyoton kekkei genkai. The girl who was able to take down two of the revived Hokage's along with crippling Orochimaru. Such a person would be a great boon to the village. Although Danzo would admit, keeping the girl a secret allowed him to gain the element of surprise over the rouge Sannin. Still, that didn't mean he was happy that something like that was being kept from his notice.

The old war hawk thought back to when this all started. It was simply a strange occurrence that most would pass off as someone exaggerating combat prowess. As soon as the preliminaries for the final round of the chunin exams had been finished, he started getting reports of the Hyuuga heiress displaying a strange jutsu during her fight with her admittedly superior cousin Neji. Apparently the meek girl had managed to not only defeat the former rookie-of-the-year, she completely thrashed him.

Danzo inwardly cursed the fact that he was unable to get any of his agents on the security detail at the tower, but being that this year the exams were conducted with multiple villages, everyone made sure someone from their village was there to observe. And the Leaf security personnel were hand picked at random by the Hiruzen himself.

So up until this point the only leads he had to go on was second hand reports from what few people who were present at the time had let slip. However once the first round of the finals had started, that's when Danzo finally hit pay-dirt. Not only did the Hyuuga heiress display her new jutsu, which was some kind of transformation that gave her a power boost and unlocked new abilities, the Nine-Tails vessel had as well.

Once is random, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. But to Danzo, there was no such thing as coincidence. Everything can be connected. And so when the second fight started and the Nara heir pulled the same trick as well, Danzo was more than a little annoyed that his men hadn't picked up on such an important development sooner. All three genin were only a few months out of the academy yet they were displaying combat prowess that was easily chunin level if not jonin. He figured the latter was more likely.

There was no feasible way that the three of them had managed to make such progress in their training without help. But at the same time there was no clear source for where they got the help. Each of their sensei's wouldn't have been able to help them improve by leaps and bounds like they did. Kakashi was the laziest jonin in all existence, and he spent most of his time training the 'Last' Uchiha since he was the only _known_ person in the village to possess a Sharingan. Asuma, while not as lazy as Kakashi, preferred to take a more hands-off approach. Not really neglecting his team, but not pushing them to better themselves either. That, and the man spent most of his free time chasing after Kurenai's ass. And speaking of her, she used a more gentle touch in teaching her team, so she couldn't have produced such results either.

People don't make such drastic improvements on their own. Even Itachi was a prodigy, whereas the three genin in question were below average when they graduated. A clown, a narcoleptic, and a pacifist. It just didn't make sense.

It wasn't until the attack started that Danzo received some answers. Three different locations, three different events.

When Hiruzen was imprisoned with Orochimaru, the ice user, Yumi he had been informed her name was, had revealed herself to have been at the Hokage's side the entire time, hiding behind a veil of ice.

When the fighting escalated in the arena stands, another kunoichi appeared. From what he was able to discern, the girl bore a striking resemblance to Orochimaru. However it turned out that she was not allied to the man as she fought his forces. But the most surprising thing was her display of the ability to utilize the Sharingan technique Amaterasu, despite not possessing the famed eyes. He would need to keep on eye on her. What's more, she led a team comprised of the aforementioned genin to find and retrieve Sasuke who was pursuing Gaara. Danzo was somewhat thankful for the woman's intervention. It would not be good for the village if such a prominent figure as the Last Uchiha were to be killed or captured.

This also brought to light the knowledge that Gaara was the Sand's jinchuuriki, playing host to the One-Tailed Beast Shuukaku. Though he was disappointed that they let the boy flee in the end.

The final event had occurred downtown where Orochimaru's summoned snakes were rampaging. Thanks to the intervention of the Sannin Jiraiya, the first snake was killed with ease. Moments later, the second snake was single-handedly killed by another strange kunoichi. She too had eyes like the snake-man, and if the reports were accurate enough, she seemed to move like a snake as well. Hikage he had been informed her name was.

Each kunoichi was vastly different from the others, but they each possessed a unique trait. Yumi had the hyoton kekkei genkai, Miyabi had cast Amaterasu, and Hikage managed to take down a snake summons using only knives. Not kunai, just simple throwing knives. Aside from that, each was dressed rather outlandishly by ninja standards.

But it didn't take a genius for Danzo to put three and three together. Three strange kunoichi, three genin. Each one of them must have taught one of the genin each. Now Danzo just had to connect the dots to who was with who.

And it turns out that those three weren't the only kunoichi that arrived in the village. During the initial attack, two more strange woman had arrived. They easily took down every opponent they came across, though none of them were killed. What's more, they then confronted Jiraiya and Hikage. The elder one, Imu, had sped off to fight Hikage while the younger one, Murasaki, had stayed to fight Jiraiya.

What followed was hard for Danzo to believe. Not only did the purple-haired girl fight the Sannin, she managed to surpass him in combat. According to reports, she was using a sealess genjutsu that caused all in the area to feel absolute despair. The most surprising thing however, was the fact that the girl received no physical wounds. Her outfit was torn to shreds, but not a drop of her blood was spilled.

And with the fight between Hikage and Imu, the latter was able to manipulate the size of her bo staff, not unlike how Hiruzen uses Enma's transformed state. She even managed to demolish a two story building with a single blow.

Eventually the battles came to a close, but in the most ridiculous way possible. Danzo really didn't believe a word of this part of the report. If it weren't for the fact that the person who observed the fight was one of his more trusted underlings, he would have thought this was some kind of joke.

As Murasaki was preparing to finish off Jiraiya, another girl intervened by... groping... the former's breasts. As soon as that happened, the entire fight fell apart. As it turned out, all of the girls were acquainted with one another, and Imu and Murasaki were planning to betray Orochimaru and join their squad leader, Miyabi.

The blonde girl, Katsuragi, proceeded to... steal Imu's panties... and run around the village with them on her head.

Danzo leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, grumbling in annoyance. "This can't be real..."

Despite all the crazy shit the old man had seen over the years, this took the cake. It just _had_ to be a false report. The Third must have found his men and put them under some form of genjutsu.

"This _has_ to be a joke." he said as he straightened his back and returned to the task at hand. Regardless of how crazy it sounded, the reports were 100% accurate. Even the part that mentioned a pink-haired kunoichi seen running through the streets without panties.

And through it all, the Root leader had to make something of the nonsensical mess in front of him. For all the quirks these kunoichi displayed, they were still powerful potential assets to the village. It has been made clear that three of them are most likely loyal since they have taken village genin as disciples. Imu and Murasaki are loyal to Miyabi, so they will follow her lead. And Katsuragi seems to just be interested in perving on other women. Much like a certain Sannin.

"I hope to God they don't spend any time together."

Regardless, he needed more intel on these Kunoichi. Each one of them stands out, especially given how few of them there are, so if he decided to 'acquire' one of them, the rest would immediately take notice. And he still didn't have enough data on their capabilities to safely believe he could withstand a combined attack from them. There were too many unknowns. He would need a distraction of some sort. Something to draw one of them away from the village so that they could 'die' while they're away. Preferably someplace where the body won't be found.

Thinking on it for a moment, he supposed he could hold one of their students hostage, but that also came with problems. Two of them are heirs to major clans in the village. All Hell would be raised should they disappear. And the third one is the jinchuuriki. Despite how much Danzo despised the kid personally, he was still a major asset to the villages forces.

For the time being, he would have to settle for having his agents tail them and learn what they can.

"Nothing in this village escapes my sight for long. No matter how well Hiruzen tries to hide it."

 **(-)**

If there was one word to describe the men of the Nara clan, it would be whipped. For whatever reason, regardless of the generation, every male member of the clan was born with a passive, laid back personality. The women on the other hand were born with a dominating and overbearing personality. So for all the strength and skill the men displayed in combat, they were no match for their wives. Shikaku Nara was no different.

The man silently cursed his son when the boy arrived home with two older women in tow. Both were dressed in casual outfits, one wearing a red sweater that reached past the shorts she was wearing, and the other wore a white button-up shirt with a blue skirt. Though she left the first few buttons undone to show off her cleavage along with the fact that she was seemingly not wearing a bra.

As soon as Shikaku saw the duo, he felt the sudden urge to flee to the mountains and live his life as a hermit. The mischievous glint in the blondes eyes immediately put him on edge. He had seen that look in the villages infamous prankster on more than one occasion. Whereas the green-haired girl had a somewhat intimidating look in her eyes. Mainly because she wouldn't outwardly react to anything around her.

And so it came to be that Shikaku, his wife Yoshino, and his son were sitting at their living room table with the two girls sitting across from them. The girls introduced themselves as Hikage and Katsuragi, Hikage with an empty tone and Katsuragi with an excited one.

From first impressions, it seemed like the blode had absorbed all of Hikage's enthusiasm.

Sitting forward, Shikaku started the conversation. "So, my son tells me that you have been training him. Is that correct Hikage?"

The girl nodded. "Yes."

Shikaku waited a few moments for her to expand on that, but all he got was silence. Coughing into his hand, the elder Nara tried to regain traction. "Well, you said that you came here to ask a favor of us. And seeing as how you managed to whip my lazy son into shape for the chunin exams, I suppose I can find someway to repay you. How can I help you?"

"We are in need of lodging." Hikage answered blandly.

"Lodging?" repeated Shikaku.

"Yes, lodging. A place to stay, a house, an apartment, a building to reside in, somewhere that we can sleep inside." Hikage spoke, listing off stuff. "Do you need me to go on?"

"Err, no. I think I have the jist of it." he replied. "But if you don't mind me asking, why exactly do you need somewhere to stay?"

"Because now that I'm here, the bench Hikage has been sleeping on for the past month won't be enough for the both of us." answered Katsuragi.

"You've been sleeping on a bench for the past month?!" exclaimed Yoshino in concern. "Whatever for?!"

"I don't have anywhere else to stay." Hikage replied.

"But what about your belongings?"

"Don't have any."

"Oh, you poor thing!" exclaimed Yoshino. "We'll be sure to find you a place to stay somewhere in the compound."

"Now hold on a minute honey." grumbled Shikaku. "The only people who are allowed to live here are members of the Nara clAAAAANNNN!" he yelped at the end as he felt his wife's foot stomp on his own. He swears she has caltrops glued to the bottom of her sandles.

"It wouldn't be a problem at all." Yoshino said as she turned to face her husband. Despite how nice of a smile she was showing, he could feel the underlying threat. "Right _dear_?"

"Bu-"

"After all, it wouldn't be very kind of us to leave to fragile women to fend for themselves out on the street~."

"Fragile my ass..." whispered Shikamaru. A second later he felt something impact his forehead, causing him to yelp in pain. Looking at the offending object, he saw that it was a button. Lifting his gaze up to his mother, he noticed that she was now missing a button from her sleeve.

"W-well... I suppose we can make an exception, just this once." spoke Shikaku.

"Oh, how kind of you dear~! I knew you had a heart of gold all along~!" cheered Yoshino.

"What a drag..."

 **(-)**

"Yo, Naruto!" Miyabi called out as she threw on a jacket. "I'm heading over to the Hyuuga compound to meet with Hinata's father. You're on your own for dinner."

"You're going to see Hinata?!" he exclaimed as his head shot out from one of the rooms.

"I'll probably see her when I get there. So yeah."

"Can I come along?!" he asked as he quickly got dressed in something besides his lazy-day clothes.

Miyabi shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Two minutes later they were out the door and heading for the Hyuuga compound. As they walked, Miyabi took notice of how fidgety Naruto was. Seeing as it would be better to just get the problem sorted before they arrived, she decided to take the plunge.

"Alright, I'll bite. What's with the twitching?" she suddenly asked, causing Naruto to suddenly stop in surprise.

"You noticed?!"

"You're twitching more than a meth addict having a seizure. Of course I noticed." replied the woman.

"What's a meth addict?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. Now tell me what's on your mind."

"Well..." Naruto started as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's about Hinata."

"Oh, the little heiress? What about her?" Miyabi asked as she kept her eyes forward and continued walking. She was trained at a young age to be able to have a detailed conversation while maintaining an appropriate walking pace without looking at the other person.

"She... kinda kissed me yesterday." Naruto replied with a dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"Good for you." she replied simply.

"Can you give me a better reaction than that?! I just had my first kiss with a girl and I'm freaking out over here!"

Sighing in slight annoyance, Miyabi finally turned to regard Naruto with a glance. "So you had your first kiss? What do you want me to say? Be careful of getting cooties? Did she slip you some tongue? What was the taste of her lip gloss?"

"No! Nothing like that!" barked Naruto. "What do I do about it?"

"Hell if I know kid."

"What?! What about all the relationships you've had?"

"Never been in one." she answered plainly. "Still haven't had my first kiss either."

"Really?!"

"I thank you for the flattery that you think I'm a desirable woman, but that's not the case. Most people regard me as more boy than girl given my appearance and demeanor. So it's not like I had guys lining up to date me." Miyabi explained.

"What? But how is that possible?" Naruto said as his eyes drifted to Miyabi's considerable bust.

The girl noticed this and gave the blonde a bonk on the head. "Hang back and look at me from behind, then you'll understand."

Naruto did as instructed and let Miyabi pass him. Once she was in front, he saw what she was talking about. The tall stature, short white hair, the way she dressed, the way she held herself... If he didn't already know her, he would've thought she was a guy. Running to catch up with the girl, he saw her turn her gaze back to him.

"So you saw it huh?"

"Why don't you change then? Make it so people think you're more girly?" asked a confused Naruto.

"Because _this_ is who I am. I like the way I currently am, and I don't want to change it just so I get noticed by some guys. I'd rather wait to find someone who loves me for who I am instead of changing to fit someone elses tastes. The idea of wearing a dress makes my skin crawl."

"So..." Naruto trailed off.

For a moment Miyabi thought he was going to say something about her impressive resolve. That wasn't the case.

"You don't have any advice for me on how to deal with this?!"

The woman nearly facefaulted at his reaction. "Listen, it's obvious that little miss wallflower has had a thing for you for quite some time. When you were fighting yesterday, she finally built up the courage to convey her feelings to you. All that matters now is how you respond. It's as simple as that. You reject or accept, nothing else."

"B-but I..."

"Here we are." Miyabi stated, breaking Naruto from his thoughts.

The blonde was surprised they had already arrived. He hadn't even noticed since they were talking.

One of the men guarding the gate walked up to them. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm here to see Hiashi. He's expecting me." Miyabi answered.

"Oh, you must be Miyabi." the man nodded. "We'll let you in right away." the man then turned a disdainful eye to Naruto. "Though you'll have to leave that _thing_ outside."

Naruto let out an indignant growl at the presumptuous man, but otherwise refrained from making a scene. He just added the man to his mental list of prank targets.

"Now I know you didn't just refer to this kid as a 'thing'. I must have had something in my ears, so I'll let you try again." Miyabi said in annoyance as she thought of the different ways to take apart the man in front of her.

The man cleared his throat, unaware of his impending doom. "I said; you'll have to leave that _thing_ outside."

"Ooooh, wrong answer..." Miyabi said as she prepared to summon her sword.

Fortunately the gate opened and the escalating danger stopped. "That will be enough Saji." came the voice of Hiashi Hyuuga as he stepped out of the compound. "I'm sure that we can entertain one extra guest."

"B-but sir-"

"Am I making myself clear?" he asked with a hint of anger.

"Y-yes sir..." the guard replied as he stepped out of the way.

"Ah, Miyabi-san, how nice of you to drop by. I was just coming to see if you had arrived." spoke the clan head.

"I'm honored that you were kind enough to greet us personally." Miyabi replied with a bow. She then gave Naruto a quick smack on the head to get him to play along.

"Ah! Sorry! It's nice to meet you sir!" he said a little too forcefully with a rigid bow.

"Well then, come in. We can talk in my office." the man said as he led them inside.

As they made their way through the compound, Miyabi easily took notice of how the clan was divided. There was clearly two branches to the clan, one subservient and the other in charge. She didn't want to make any assumptions with just her observations, so she filed the info away for a later date.

"Here we are." Hiashi said as he led them into a well organized room. Everything was meticulously placed so that it improved efficiency. As Hiashi sat down at the desk, he gestured for Miyabi to take the seat across from it. "Please, sit down. Can I offer you some tea?"

"Sure. I could go for a drink. What about Naruto?" Miyabi asked as she jabbed her thumb at the blonde.

Though Hiashi didn't hate the jinchuuriki, it wasn't like he accepted him either. If anything, he was a neutral party. So long as the boy didn't cause trouble for him, he would leave him be. "My daughters are training in the dojo next door. He can go join them if he wants."

Miyabi gave Naruto a gesture to run off and see Hinata while she remained with Hiashi.

"So, I already know about my daughters progress from Yumi, now tell me about how she did on the mission."

 **(-)**

Naruto had never been so nervous about opening a door before in his life. Even if the only thing on the other side was a pair of kind girls, he still hesitated to slide it open. Eventually he worked up the nerve to go through with the action, but as he reached for the handle the door opened from the other side.

Suddenly standing in front of him was Hinata, their faces only inches apart. As soon as the girl realized it was Naruto who was standing in front of her, her face flushed red and she turned away with an 'Eep!'.

Trying to alleviate the tension, Naruto tried to break the ice. "Uh, hey there Hinata. How ya doing?"

"N-N-N-Naruto-kun! W-why are y-you here?" she asked with her signature stutter.

"I came here with Miyabi-nee-san. Your dad wanted to talk to her." Naruto noticed that the other girl, likely Hinata's younger sister, was giggling at the girls predicament. "So I decided to come see you as well."

"W-what for?" she asked as she stepped away and slowly turned to face him.

"Well, we said we would discuss what happened yesterday."

Immediately Hinata's face turned a brighter shade of red upon remembering _that_ event. "O-okay. I-I guess w-we should talk ab-bout it." she said as she looked up to face Naruto.

Hinata's sister, having noticed the mood in the air, decided to leave.

Both genin stood silent for what seemed like hours before one of them spoke up.

"So... I guess you like me, huh?" said Naruto.

Hinata played with her fingers as her eyes suddenly found the floor to be interesting. "Y-yes..."

"And how long have you felt that way?" Naruto asked shyly.

"A f-few years..."

"Really?!" exclaimed Naruto in disbelief, causing Hinata to recoil slightly. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's okay N-Naruto-kun... I k-know you d-didn't mean it..."

"Yeah..." Naruto replied as he rubbed the back of his head. "Soooo... What happens next?"

"W-what do you m-mean?"

"I mean, you obviously like me." Naruto stated, causing the girl to blush some more. "And I think you're a really nice girl..." Hinata blushed further.

" _When you were fighting yesterday, she finally built up the courage to convey her feelings to you. All that matters now is how you respond. It's as simple as that. You reject or accept, nothing else."_

' _I've had this weird feeling in my chest whenever I think about Hinata for a while now. Is... Is this... Love? Every time I look at her I smile when I see her face. She's always been kind to me, even when everyone else wasn't. And I never recognized that as being love?'_

" **Don't overthink things kit. It's as simple as this; what is she to you?"**

Naruto looked up with look of determination on his face. He gently grabbed Hinata's chin and lifted her face up to meet his.

"N-Naruto-k-"

She was cut-off as his lips met with hers.

' _She's the girl I want to protect.'_

Eventually the look of surprise left Hinata's face, and she gradually leaned into the kiss. It was just an innocent kiss between children, nothing lustful about it. But to them, it conveyed their feelings clearly.

Standing at the edge of the doorway, the two voyeurs watched as things played out. Hiashi had a stern look on his face while Miyabi looked happy for the couple.

Noticing Hiashi's hardened gaze, the white-haired woman nudged his shoulder. "They're just kids. Let them enjoy life while they can." she said, causing Hiashi's gaze to soften somewhat. "Besides, I'm sure their kids would look cute and be strong as Hell."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- FOUR IN A ROW!**

 **So yeah, another chapter. Nothing taking place in Konoha in this one, just some other stuff I wanted to get done. Next chapter will be back in the village. A bit more filler, and probably some action at the end.**

 **I hope everyone seems in character, I'm doing my best.**

 **Also, I know that the last section is a little weak, but I'm starting to lose momentum, and I want to get on to the next chapter and build it back up again.**

 **Hope you like, and be sure to leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

"Urrghhh... How much longer until we hit land? I'm starving here..." groaned Homura as she lay on her back on the deck of the small ship she was on.

"I'm not quite sure." answered her companion Asuka who was currently rowing as it was her turn. "Probably somewhere between hopefully soon and probably later."

Homura cracked an eye open to send the brunette a weak glare. "That's a pretty big range..." she groaned as she adjusted her position so that the sun wasn't in her eyes. "Whose idea was it to try sailing again?"

Asuka chuckled weakly. "I'm pretty sure that it was a joint decision between the two of us."

"Well I redact my consent!" shouted the rogue shinobi. "We should've just waited for someone to come and find us!"

Her friend smiled weakly. "Homura, it was easy enough for us to tell that the previous island had been abandoned for quite awhile. Nobody was coming by anytime soon. We're lucky that we found a boat that wasn't rotted out."

"Still think we should have packed more meat..." grumbled the tanned girl.

"We were barely floating as it was!" grumbled Asuka. "If we packed any more then we would've sunk."

"Tch, then I would've just eaten more so we didn't."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Asuka continued to row. "Of course you would solve the problem like that."

"If it weren't for the fact that this boat is only 7 feet by 4 feet, I'd totally get up and deck you right now."

"Love you too Homura-chan!"

A loud grumble was heard that caught the girls attention.

"Geez Homura. I know you're hungry, but that's a bit much..."

Quickly sitting up, Homura was instantly on guard. "Wasn't me."

"Huh?"

"There's something out here." Homura said as she scanned there surroundings. "Look! There!" she shouted as she pointed behind Asuka.

The girl turned around and spotted it. "An island!"

Seconds later, the grumble could be heard again. In actuality, it was a roar.

Homura's lips split into a grin. "That ain't a 'let's be friends' roar. That's an 'I'm gonna kill you' roar." she said as she gazed at the island with a hungry expression. "Food and a fight, looks like some kind deity is looking out for us after all."

"Uhh, Homura-chan?" Asuka called out as she heard Homura begin to chuckle.

"LET'S GO!" Homura yelled as she stole the oars from Asuka and began paddling like mad to reach the island.

It the span of two seconds they went from rowboat to speedboat. Asuka was forced to hold on to the boats edge to prevent herself from being sent flying off. The boat quickly neared the island in record time, however Asuka noticed that Homura wasn't slowing down.

"HOMURA-CHAN!" she shouted, trying to get the girls attention. But it was to no avail. All she could do now was brace for impact.

The boat slammed into the beach at high speed and instantly shot up the bank and into the air like it was a ramp. Homura, finally noticing the lack of water resistance from paddling, snapped out of her stupor.

"AAAAHHH! WHY ARE WE FLYING?!"

"DON'T CRASH, DON'T CRASH, DON'T CRASH, DON'T CRASH, PLEASE DON'T CRASH!" cried Asuka as the boat began to plummet back towards the ground.

As luck would have it however, the boat managed to land in a small lake on the island. Slamming into the water at high speed, the boat somehow managed to remain intact and sent a geyser of water skyward before coming to a halt. The cool water rained down on the two girls as started thanking the gods for their incredible luck.

"See? I told you someone was watching over us..." spoke a winded Homura.

"Yeah... Whatever you say..." Asuka said weakly.

Moments later the roar could be heard again. Homura quickly remembered what they were there for and her grin returned. She jumped out of the boat and ran across the water and into the jungle towards the sound.

"HERE I COME!"

"Ah! Wait! Homura-chan!" Asuka called out, but it was already too late. The girl was gone. Letting out a sigh, Asuka lamented her friends antics. "Why does she always have to be so headstrong?"

 **(-)**

Honoka Uzumaki was very much regretting her choice to become a part of the Ultimate Summoning Beast project. What was originally just a simple curiosity about whether or not it was possible to create artificial summon, it quickly evolved into something much more. The people funding the project were extremely pleased with the initial results of the first experiments. Back then, all she had to do was apply fairly standard seals on multiple test subjects to keep them subdued. But then their employers came to them with something that was less of a request and more of a demand at knife-point.

'We want the ultimate summons. A creature capable of going head to head with Kage-level opponents on its own. The ultimate anti-ninja weapon.' Things had just kind of escalated after that. Their funding increased, but so did the number of guards (read enforcers). The investors began setting scheduled deadlines. And if they were unable to produce good results when that time came around... well, it was noticeable that only 30% of the original projects workers were still around. Everyone else had been 'replaced'. And if it wasn't for Honoka's specialty in the field of fuuinjutsu, she had a feeling that she could've been 'replaceable' as well. She never thanked her Uzumaki heritage more than ever before. However in the face of her current predicament, all of that meant nothing.

With all the strain that was being put on her and her colleagues, they were bound to make a mistake somewhere along the way. And given what they were dealing with, even a tiny mistake could lead to disaster. And boy did it. Although she couldn't pin down the exact reason, she felt that it was either the ink she used for writing the seal tags was runny or too dry, or maybe the paper she was being supplied was made somewhat thinner to cut costs, or maybe one of her subordinates just didn't place the tag in the right spot. Regardless of the reason, it all culminated in the same result. The Beast was now on the loose. And from what she could tell, she was the last living member of the project who was on the island. That _Thing_ had killed everyone else.

Skilled as she was in fuuinjutsu, she was still not skilled enough to properly pull off the Adamantine Sealing Chains technique without a little extra help. What she was able to pull off was her own unique form of the jutsu, which she called the Beast Sealing technique. Her best fuuinjutsu technique, one that had managed to keep the Beast sealed up to this point. However at this point, she wasn't so sure that it would cut it. Ever since its creation, the Beast was kept sedated in order to lessen its resistance to their probing. Now that it was awake and aware, it could easily have the strength to consciously break her seal. But it was the only thing she could try doing.

Despite the Beasts rampaging, she was successful in pulling off the technique flawlessly. The Beast was struggling in its binds, but restrained nonetheless.

"Did I get it?" Honoka asked with shaky breaths.

Moments later, the amalgamation of summon creatures roared as it broke free from its bindings.

Honoka fell on her rear as the Beast turned to regard her. It was more than evident that it was pissed from her attempt to restrain it, and now she had no cards left to play. The woman trembled as the Beast slowly wriggled its way over to her, its gaping maw open and still stained with the blood of her colleagues.

A warm puddle spread across the floor underneath her as the Beast got within arms reach. "Oh God... Someone... Help me..." she begged as she waited for the inevitable.

The Beast lifted its head up and prepared to bring it down and chomp the woman in half.

"ROAR!"

Honoka opened her eyes to witness a kunoichi wreathed in flames slam into the Beasts torso, before launching herself upward, raking the six katana she was holding across it body. Bloody gashes opened up in its flesh and sprayed the crimson substance everywhere. The Beast swung one of its tentacles at the girl, but she brought her swords up in defense. The force of its attack sent her upwards towards the ceiling. Flipping her body so she landed on her feet, she threw two of her swords at the Beast. Both blades sunk into its eyes from the precise throw, and the Beast wailed in pain as its vision was stolen from it. It began thrashing about blindly in rage, hoping to hit the girl that wounded it.

"Come on big boy! Is that all you got?!" the girl shouted as she kicked off the ceiling and launched herself towards the Beasts head. Doing another flip, she sheathed the four swords she was holding on her back and managed to land with her feet pressing against the thrown swords, causing the weapons to sink further into the Beasts skull. Another wail of agony echoed throughout the facility.

"Time for a face lift!" she yelled as she grabbed the two blades and dragged them upwards through the Beasts face and towards the top of its head. Bringing the two blades together at a point, she ripped them out, causing the large triangle of flesh to peel off the Beasts head and flop over its face. Now it's skull was in view for the girl to target.

"Time to die ya big bastard!"

The kunoichi then drew the other four swords again and quickly stabbed them into the skull in a circle formation around her. She then reached for her final sword, the nodachi.

"Engetsuka! Crimson mode!" she shouted upon drawing the blade.

As the girl did this, Honoka noticed that her hair was loosed from its ponytail and turned crimson along with her eyes. She had an almost feral look on her face as she stabbed the final sword in the center of the circle.

"CRIMSON ERUPTION!"

A pillar of fire erupted upwards from the girls sword, lighting up the Beast and without a doubt boiling its brain. The Beast began to slow as its skin turned to ash and fell away, its ceaseless flailing coming to a halt as its life force drained away. And just for good measure, the girl ripped the nodachi free from the Beast and raised it upwards. As she did this, the other six swords seemed to come to life as they dragged themselves outward from the Beasts skull before flying into the air and returning to their sheathes. Boiling blood splattered everywhere as chunks of the Beasts flesh fell away from its body to sizzle on the ground. A horrid smell filled the air that Honoka had to resist retching from.

Honoka had never seen such power before in her life, not to mention overkill. The unknown kunoichi put away the nodachi, causing her appearance to revert to how it originally was. She hopped off the corpse and walked away from it and towards Honoka, fishing through her pocket to pull out a new hair tie. It was almost as if she _hadn't_ just killed a dangerous beast that had slaughtered an entire facility of scientists and guards. She was acting like she had just kicked a can out of her way on the sidewalk.

"Hey, you got any food here?" the girl asked as she reached Honoka.

The woman could only flap her lips dumbly at the innocuous question. The girl before her had just killed the culmination of all the experiments they were running and was asking for FOOD of all things. It was just too surreal for the red-head.

"Oi! Food, do you have any?" the girl asked again.

This time Honoka managed to respond, even if it was just a stuttering mess. "I- But- You- That- Just-"

Unwilling to waste anymore time, the girl walked off with a wave. "Whatever, I'll find the cafeteria myself."

Once again Honoka was alone and without a clue of what she should do. "... She's just gonna pretend like that never happened..." she whimpered.

"Hello! Miss!" came a new voice.

Honoka turned her head to the source. It was a girl roughly the same age as the previous one, save her hair was shorter, her skin fairer, and her outfit was different.

The girl ran up to Honoka and stopped in front of her with a hand outstretched. "Are you alright miss?"

Grabbing the girls hand and standing on shaky legs, she finally managed to collect herself. "Just fine... Not like I just had my life flash before my eyes..."

"Eh?" the girl uttered as she tilted her head.

Honoka pointed behind her at the Beasts corpse.

"EHHH!? What is that?!"

Honoka let out a long sigh. "A mistake. Nothing more, nothing less." she answered as she finally came to terms that she wouldn't be dying today. It was also now that she noticed she had pissed herself. "Shit..." she uncharacteristically muttered a curse.

"Oh... Well, have you seen my friend anywhere? You can't miss her; long brown hair, tan skin, has seven swords strapped to her back, and a one track mind."

Honoka pointed towards one of the nearby hallways. "She went that way. Said she was looking for food."

"Okay, thanks!" the girl said as she ran off to find her friend.

"... They can't be real..."

 **(-)**

Finally having returned to her quarters to wash up and change her clothes, Honoka was able to properly process the earlier events. She had just been rescued in probably the most ridiculous manner ever. In fact, how did those two find the island? It wasn't marked on any maps in order to maintain secrecy. Did they just stumble upon it?

Putting her sandals back on, she decided to get answers straight from the source. From what she could tell, the first girl was looking for food. Her best bet would be to head to the cafeteria.

Upon entering the facilities cafeteria, Honoka was greeted by a gruesome sight. There was red everywhere, accompanied by the occasional chunk of flesh. There was an unearthly sound coming from one end of the cafeteria that made her skin crawl. Turning her head towards the source, she paled at the terrifying sight.

"You need to eat some veggies Homura-chan! You won't get stronger if you don't!"

"I'll eat 'em when I'm done with the meat portion of my meal!"

"Your meal is _only_ the meat portion!"

"Bite me Asuka! I haven't had this much meat available to me since that time a box fell out of a delivery truck! Me and my squad ate like Kings that night!"

Honoka had to suppress a shudder at the sight before her. Her savior, whose name was Homura, was scarfing down the facilities supply of meat like there was no tomorrow. Asuka, while more restrained, was also eating like she had been starved for days. Quite frankly, the scene repulsed Honoka.

Working up the courage to draw the girls attention away from their food, Honoka cleared her throat. Both of their gazes immediately shot to her, and for a moment she thought they were looking at her like she was a potential meal.

"Um, hello girls. My name is Honoka." she introduced herself, a fitting start.

"'Sup." responded Homura as she returned to eating.

At least Asuka had the sense to greet her again. "Oh! You're the lady from before!"

Honoka nodded as she walked over to join the two. Only to sit next to them, not eat. She feared that if her hand went anywhere near the pile of food, Homura might stab it with her chopsticks.

"So, I see you two have found our secret facility. How you did this, I don't know." Honoka stated, trying to start a conversation. "I am quite grateful that you managed to find it though. Your rescue was very timely."

"No problem Honoka-san!" smiled Asuka. "Glad we could be of help! Right Homura-chan?"

Homura gave a grunt in response, mouth still filled to the brim with meat.

Asuka chuckled as she scratched her cheek. "I know she may seem a bit..."

"Dismissive?" Honoka offered.

"Yeah, but she's still happy that she managed to save you."

"I'll take your word for it." Honoka replied. "So, what exactly are you two doing on this island?"

"Looking for food." answered Homura. "And we found it."

"Actually, we were sailing for land when we heard that monsters roar in the distance. Then we spotted this island and decided to investigate. And here we are." Asuka said as she gestured to the table.

"So I see." responded Honoka. "Now, I'm sure you're curious as to what that thing was back there."

"Not really." answered Homura.

"Huh?"

"It's dead now, that's all that matters."

"I-I suppose... But don't you want to know how that Beast was created or why?"

"Does it have anything to do with us?"

"I don't think so..."

"Then no."

Honoka hung her head in exasperation. "Why me...?"

She then felt a pat on the shoulder and looked up to see Asuka. "I'll listen to the story behind it." she said with a kind smile.

Ah, a moment of sanity in this storm of madness.

 **(-)**

Takigakure, otherwise known as the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls, was a somewhat secluded village that was built at the base of a massive tree that towered over the surrounding forest. The only way to enter the village, aside from falling several hundred feet down a cliff along the forests perimeter, was to navigate the cave systems behind the nearby waterfall. It was quite literally; The Village Hidden in the Waterfalls. Not only did the natural geography come into play in protecting it, but the caverns were dug out into a massive maze that only members of the village can navigate by seeing the hidden path markers.

The village was well known for a few things. They frequently produce exceptional jonin, have never successfully been invaded, and the ability for them to produce the famous Hero Water ever 100 years.

However as of the last few years, it is known for something else as well. The village had come into possession of the Seven-Tailed Beast Chomei. It is the only village outside of the Five Great Villages to hold a jinchuuriki. Quite frankly, it should be something to celebrate about. But unfortunately, the truth of the situation was much worse.

Regardless of who they are, all jinchuuriki bear the stigma of being monsters in the eyes of everyone else, even if they are fighting for the good of the village. The jinchuuriki of Takigakure is no different.

Skipping down the street and humming a tune to herself was a petite girl who was twelve years of age. Her short mint-green hair bounced about with every step, and her orange eyes had a certain inquisitiveness about them. Her attire consisted of a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. Since she had finally graduated from the academy, she wore her forehead protector with pride as it was tied to her left arm.

Despite all the glares and other unsavory looks people were sending her way, the girl ignored them all, just like always. However the _real_ reason was because today was special. After all, a persons birthday only comes around once a year. As of today she was no longer twelve, but thirteen.

Fu was absolutely giddy at the prospect of spending her first birthday with a friend. Sure, Shibuki was nice and all, and he always made sure to stop by and see her, but this year was special. The first friend she had made on her own would be attending! The very thought of it sent the girls spirit soaring upwards, almost high enough to touch the Great Tree's branches above.

Turning at the next intersection, Fu finally arrived at the place she called home. It was not the most appealing of places to live, but her friend insisted that, in her words 'It will suffice'. Regardless, Fu was happy to live anywhere so long as she had a roof over her head. It was much better than having to live under a bridge in a tent like she did before. She was positively ecstatic when her friend offered to take her in when they found out her living circumstances. Truly, her new friend was the best in the world.

Opening the door to the shabby apartment building, the happy-go-lucky girl stepped inside. "I'm home onee-san!" for whatever reason, Fu found the title to be well suited to her friend.

"Just a minute!" her friend called out from one of the closets. The sound of objects frantically being moved around could be heard before the girl stepped out and slammed the door shut. "Welcome home Fu~." the girl said with a warm smile.

Fu jumped up in excitement. "Yomi-nee-san, guess what today is!"

The older girl pursed her lips in thought. "Let's see... Your graduation was last month, it's not a holiday, the anniversary of when we first met hasn't come around yet..."

The younger ninja was literally bouncing on the heels of her feet, unable to wait for Yomi to get it right. "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" she cheered.

"Oh? It is? What a surprise!" Yomi replied in fake ignorance.

The shorter girl then ran over and tackled Yomi to the ground. "This is the first birthday I've had with a friend! I'm soooo happy!" she exclaimed as she buried her face in Yomi's considerable bust and wriggled about.

Though by doing this, she failed to notice the look of disgust on Yomi's face. Not that it was directed at her mind you. Yomi could never bring herself to hate such a poor soul as Fu. No, her rage was directed at all the villagers who shunned the kind girl. It wasn't easy for her to do so, as infiltration wasn't exactly her specialty, but Yomi had managed to sneak into the towns archives and find out just why Fu was being treated like a pariah. The fact that everyone scorned the girl just because she had a monster inside of her... The very thought made Yomi want to snap and tear them apart with her zweihander Ragnarok. It had been awhile since its blades had last tasted the flesh of the 'superior'. And it was taking considerable restraint on her part to not go on a killing spree. Doing such a thing would not only upset Fu, but cause more trouble than it was worth. That's not to say that if she somehow managed to see Fu get attacked that she wouldn't step in and help. And whose to say that the attacker realized he was outmatched and tried to run away? As long as there were no survivors, Yomi could do a pretty good job of staging self-defense on her part.

The girl quickly shook such thoughts from her mind. Today was a happy day for Fu. And she wasn't going to let her anger at the village ruin it for her.

"It's nice to see you so excited about this." Yomi fixed her smile as Fu looked up. "So, just for today, onee-san is going to spoil you. Whatever you want for dinner, we'll get it, regardless of the cost."

The younger girls mouth gaped open as her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Really?!"

"Mhmm!" nodded Yomi.

"YAY!" cheered Fu as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Tonight, we dine on tonkatsu!"

"As you wish~." spoke Yomi as she got dressed into more appropriate attire for going out.

Five minutes later, the duo were walking down the street and heading towards the commercial district. Fu was running in circles in front of Yomi with her arms out like wings, absolutely overloaded with energy. Meanwhile Yomi made sure to match her pace in as dignified a manner as she could, smiling happily as she watched Fu run. To onlookers, it appeared as if a mother was taking her child for a walk through town. But everyone knew what Fu was, so it was hard for them to picture it. It was made especially harder when anyone who so much as glared at Fu had the sudden urge to flee.

One of the things Yomi is most experienced in is hatred. Despite her outer appearance and attitude, she has a very skewed view of the upper class along with anyone who looks down on others. She was able to cultivate this hatred and refine it into her own form of killing intent. Not as many ninjas are as experienced as Yomi is in the art. Whereas most choose to simply make their killing intent stronger so it can greatly effect a larger number of people, Yomi chose to make hers more precise. She can only ever effect one person at a time, but the person that gets hit will take the brunt force of ALL her killing intent. So her eyes would shift from person to person along the street, taking out anyone who gained her ire. All the while Fu was completely oblivious. It wouldn't be good of Yomi to make Fu upset on her birthday now would it?

Finally arriving at the restaurant of Fu's choice, it was your basic family owned eatery with a variety of dishes to choose from. The restaurant's name was Saiko no Ryori. A bit pretentious if you asked Yomi, but this is where Fu wanted to eat.

"I heard that they serve the best tonkatsu here! And the sauce is so good you can drink it by itself!" grinned Fu.

"Well, that sounds like quite a feat~. I'm sure that they will give us the best tonkatsu they can make when we tell them it's your birthday~." Yomi said sweetly.

The two took their seats and waited for the waiter to come over and take their order. And it was just a coincidence that everyone else had left the restaurant as soon as they sat down. Just like it was a coincidence that their waiter took his sweet time in greeting them. Or how his smile looked a bit too forced. Or even how Yomi noticed the chef silently cursing through the serving window. Yep, all just a coincidence. Nobody could possibly be repulsed at the thought that they had to serve food to Fu.

So when the waiter finally handed them the menus and left to get them glasses of water, Yomi made sure to grab the mans hand to catch him before he left.

"I just want you to know, that this is Fu's birthday dinner~. She isn't used to being treated to something like this, so I'd appreciate it if you could give us the best service possible~." Yomi said with a smile that all but promised pain.

"Uhh..." the waiter mumbled.

"That is, as long as it isn't too much trouble for you~." she said with the same overly kind tone. At the same time she put the waiters hand in a near vice-like grip.

"Yes mam!" the waiter replied as he hurried off as soon as Yomi released his hand.

Yomi looked back at Fu, who was far too absorbed in reading the menu to notice what just happened. "I thought you said you decided on tonkatsu?"

"Yeah, I did. But I'm just looking at all the other amazing things that they serve here. I've never even heard of half of this stuff!" the younger girl exclaimed as she turned the menu about.

Yomi took a brief glance at the menu and when she did, her grip on the table tightened to the point it was cracking. The majority of the things listed were your average meals you could get at any diner. To think that Fu hadn't even heard of them... It made her blood boil. The girl was never allowed to eat even the most basic of dishes.

"Fu dear, I need to go use the washroom. If the waiter comes back, you know what to order for me." Yomi said as she stood up.

"Right!" saluted Fu. "Anything with beansprouts and iced tea!"

Yomi smiled at the girls antics before heading around the corner towards the bathroom, only to make a detour towards the kitchen.

"I told you I don't give a flying fuck how threatened you feel! You go out there and tell them to leave or you're outta here! I'm losing business with that _thing_ here!" Yomi heard the chef whisper/yell through the door.

Having heard enough, the ninja slowly opened the door and entered the cooking area. The waiter, much like the collard greens in the nearby bowl, immediately blanched upon seeing her.

"Eh? Who the hell are you?" he then turned to the waiter. "Is this the bitch that threatened you?"

The mans lack of a response was good enough for the chef.

"Listen here lady, we don't serve animals and we certainly don't serve violent cunts like yourself." the chef growled out as he stomped over to Yomi and pressed his finger to her chest. "So how's about you take your little pet out there and go elsewhEEERRREEE!" he quietly cried in pain as Yomi quickly grabbed the mans extended index finger and snapped it sideways.

"I'm sorry, but I thought I said that it was Fu's birthday, and I asked for the best service you could provide~." Yomi said as she smiled at the chef. The waiter had already wisely chosen to leave.

"Grr, listen here you god damned-!"

The chef was unable to finish as Yomi grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and pinned him to the wall. It was about then that the chef realized he had fucked up.

"Listen, this is what you are going to do..." Yomi said as she reached over and pulled a knife out from a drawer. "You are going to give that girl the best damn meal you ever cooked. In no way are you going to try to tamper with it. That means no poison, no spit, and no expired ingredients." Yomi twirled the knife in her free hand with a flourish. "Then, you are going to offer her a complimentary desert since it's her birthday. After that, when we leave, you will say 'Please come again'. Am I clear?"

"I..."

Yomi stabbed the knife straight through the concrete wall all the way to the hilt less than an inch away from the chefs face. "I said; Am. I. Clear?"

The chef quickly nodded and Yomi dropped him. "So glad that we could come to an accord~."

"Shit, how the hell do you expect me to cook with a broken finger?" he grumbled.

"Oh! Here, let me fix it." Yomi said as she grabbed the digit and forced it back into place, resulting in a whimper of pain from the chef. "There, all better."

The chef was grateful that she was finally leaving his kitchen. He supposed he could put up with having that _thing_ in his restaurant for one night.

"Oh, and I don't think I need to mention that you will keep quite about this to the village ninja~." Yomi said as a parting suggestion.

 **(-)**

"Man, that was the best birthday dinner ever!" cheered Fu as she skipped alongside Yomi on their way home.

"Yes, I suppose it was a nice treat. Such a shame that the chef had to go to the hospital after he broke his thumb cooking our meals. I wanted to give him a proper thank you." Yomi said off-handedly as they arrived home. As soon as Yomi opened the door, Fu rushed inside and spun on her heels to face the elder girl with a smile.

"So, where is it?!" she cried in excitement.

Yomi tilted her head in confusion. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"My present!"

"Ohhh... That's right, birthdays always come with presents." the blonde said as she made her way towards the closet. "Well, let's just see if there's anything in here for you."

Fu couldn't contain her excitement as she waited for Yomi to bring out her gift.

"Surprise!" she shouted as she pulled out a large object that was wrapped in red cloth.

Fu's eyes sparkled in amazement. "What is it?!"

Yomi then handed the gift to Fu. "Open it and see. Just don't tear the cloth, it's the carrying case."

Fu couldn't get the bag opened fast enough. When she finally did and pulled out what was inside, her heart soared. "OH THANK YOU YOMI-NEE-SAN!" she cried as she tackled Yomi into another hug.

"It was no trouble." Yomi replied as she patted the girls back.

Turning back to her present, Fu held it up. It was a moderately sized cylindrical case that could hold a variety of ninja supplies. Certainly useful for any ninja on the go.

"There's more, open it up." urged Yomi.

Doing as instructed, Fu opened the case and gasped at what was inside.

"I figured they would fit your fighting style. I hope they are to your liking."

Fu held up the weapons in question. They were a pair of wired gloves with extendable claws attached.

"I call them Kumo no Kiba, or Spider Fang. A pair of gloves that allow you to effortlessly create traps, as well as tear your opponents to shreds up close." Yomi explained as Fu eyed the gloves like they were a priceless treasure. "Go ahead, try them on." she urged.

Fu slipped on the gloves and they, well, fit like a glove. "Awesome! These are so cool!" she said as she extended the claws with a flick of the wrist.

Yomi smiled in joy. "Glad you like them."

The elder ninja watched for a few minutes as Fu gave some experimental swings of the gloves claws, doing her best to get a feel for the weight of the weapon. Eventually the duo heard a knock at the door. Running over to answer it, Fu was delighted to see that it was Shibuki.

"You made it!" she exclaimed as she enveloped the man in a hug.

"Of course I would make it." the village leader assured her as he patted her on the head. "I would've gotten here sooner, but I was busy with paperwork."

Fu beamed regardless. "Don't worry, I'm just happy you made it!"

The man then turned his gaze towards the other occupant in the room. "And you must be Yomi. Fu has told me quite a bit about you. It's nice to finally meet with you face to face."

Yomi gave a weak wave of embarrassment. "Oh, she did now? Well, I have a feeling she may have exaggerated some of the details about me."

"I can't quite say that she has. She tells me that you were kind enough to take her in off the streets and put her under your care." Shibuki pointed out. "You have my thanks for that."

"Do you think you can stay for awhile?" asked Fu.

The man gave her a warm smile. "I suppose I can spare a few minutes before the council sends anbu to drag me back for work."

"I'm sorry Shibuki-san, but we don't have any food to offer you right now. I treated Fu to dinner for her birthday. But I can make some tea real quick if you are thirsty." offered the platinum blonde.

"I don't want to impose. Besides, I don't know how long I can stay." Shibuki replied as Fu dragged him to the kotatsu and sat down with him. "Although, I have come to you with an offer."

"Oh? And what would that be?" asked Yomi as she joined them at the table.

Clearing his throat, the village leader took on a more dignified stature. "I'm sure that it has come to your attention that Fu has not been assigned to a team and lacks a jonin sensei. It is quite an unfortunate mistake on the part of the academy to _misplace_ her file."

Yomi didn't miss the way Shibuki stressed the word 'misplaced'. She mentally made another tally against the school. 2 more and she was burning it down. "I see... That is quite unfortunate."

Despite her usual attitude, it wasn't hard for Fu to discern the underlying reason for the conversation. She knew that the school, like everyone else, scorned her. But since her favorite two people in the village were going out of their way to not bring up such an unsavory topic, she decided to play ignorant.

"Quite." agreed Shibuki. "But, it has come to my attention that you are a particularly skilled kunoichi. One who I can tell is looking out for Fu, always doing what is best for her. Not many in Takigakure would do such a thing. As such, I would like to make you an offer."

"And what would that be?"

"Although you are not an official kunoichi of the village, I would like you to officially take Fu under your wing as her jonin-sensei."

The girl in question leaped from her seat and nearly hit her head on the ceiling. "Really?!"

"While I appreciate the offer, I fear that there is some more to it than that."

"Yes well, in order for me to give you custody of Fu, you need to become a certified member of the villages ninja forces. Only then will the council allow you to teach her. And even then, you will need another jonin to join you should you ever leave the village on a mission." explained Shibuki.

"Oh my. It almost seems like they don't trust me to take proper care of Fu." she said as she gave the girl a smile. "And we both know that isn't the case."

"On that, we can agree. It's just that those stuffy old goats are paranoid that you might spirit the girl away."

"Why, how preposterous."

"Regardless, I will need you to enlist in order to watch over Fu as her sensei. Do you accept?"

"Of course! Anything to help Fu."

"Yay! My best friend is gonna be my jonin-sensei!" Fu cheered as she fist pumped.

Shibuki cleared his throat as he stood up. "Well, I think my time is up. I fear my 'escorts' will be here any second. And with that, I bid you goodnight." he said as he headed to the door.

"Bye Shibuki!" waved Fu.

"Goodbye Fu." he called back as he closed the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Yomi got up from her seat. "Oh no! I forgot that we don't have any milk for the morning." she suddenly exclaimed as she headed for the door as well. "Fu, ready yourself for bed. I will be back shortly."

"Got it!" she replied as she headed to the bathroom and began to disrobe.

By the time Fu had fully stripped down and hopped in their admittedly small tub, Yomi was already out the door and a block away. As she passed the corner, she heard Shibuki call out to her.

"Good, you came."

"It wasn't that hard to decipher your eye gestures." responded Yomi. "So, what's the _real_ problem?"

Letting out a sigh, Shibuki walked alongside Yomi as they made their way down the street. "Council member Hayase. He's pushing to have Fu put under house arrest. And not necessarily in your house. He's the biggest opposition to having you become her jonin-sensei."

"I see." Yomi hummed thoughtfully.

"The man has quite a bit of pull in the council. Mainly because he uses his power to strong-arm and pressure other council members families. He won't be swayed to our side, and he will do everything in his power to roadblock us."

"Hmm, and if he were to say, disappear? Would that solve the problem?"

"As the village leader, you know I can't condone the assassination of any member of the village without good reason, especially if they are a councilor." he explained as they took a turn, doing their best to keep the anbu off them long enough to finish their conversation. "But, I am well within my right to complain about them to someone else. And if that person happens to be experienced in staging accidents... well, then I suppose it would just be a coincidence if he wound up dead shortly after."

"Ah, but of course. How are you to know if the person you are complaining to has a sudden desire to kill someone?"

"And if that person happened to have broken into the village archives and already knows the councilors home address..."

"It would be a pity if that person chose to take things into their own hands."

Anbu was almost on them, they needed to split up now.

"... I promised her parents that I would take care of her." he spoke quietly with a somber tone. "I did my damnedest, but everyone else just tries to drag her back down. I left my mark on her life, and now it's your turn." he said as he turned to look Yomi in the eyes. "Regardless of what you must do, I want you to remain by her side always... Even if you must leave-"

"Shibuki-sama!" came the voice of one of the village anbu. "You must stop neglecting your duties to wander the streets at night."

The man in question just scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But it's such a nice night out..."

"Hahh, please come along. You have more reports to go over." the anbu said as he began to lead Shibuki away.

He cast a wayward glance at the shadows of the nearby alley. _'Even if you must leave the village...'_

Yomi gave a nod from the shadows, her ever present smile still in place. "It seems that Ragnarok will get some use after all."

 **(-)**

It was a cool evening atop Mount Katsuragi. There was a slight breeze in the air, carrying a collection of bubbles off into the distance. The reflective surface of the orbs shimmered as the light of the sun hit them. Sitting at the pagoda that overlooked the forest below was Utakata. He had a somewhat wistful look on his face as he continued to blow more bubbles with his pipe. He wasn't quite sure why he had decided to stick around, especially since the girl kept pestering him to become her 'master'. The very idea constantly infuriated him. And Hotaru's persistence was beginning to get on his nerves.

Yet despite this, he found himself unable to leave. Something inside him just urged him to stay. He couldn't pin down exactly what it was, but he had a feeling that _that_ mans words had gotten to him on a subconscious level. It was ridiculous, to think that a single man could be able to sway him from his path. He renounced the ways of the teacher/student relationship and would never think otherwise.

"Oh, enjoying the view this fine evening Utakata-san?" came a somewhat rough voice from behind.

Utakata held back the frown that was forming on his lips as he turned to regard the man behind him. "He still didn't know how he was so easily able to sneak up on him.

"Kiriya-san." the jinchuuriki impassively said in greeting. "What brings you here?"

Kiriya gave a slight shrug. "Can't a man try to spend some time with his friend?"

"When did I ever say I was your friend?" responded Utakata, though there was no real bite to his words.

"Acquaintance then." Kiriya replied as he took a seat next to Utakata.

To the Six-Tails vessel, Kiriya was a bit of an enigma. Regardless of the time or place, the man was always dressed in a suit. He carried himself like a warrior, yet he showed no physical evidence of that being the case. The man also seemed dead-set on becoming his friend.

"Hotaru-san has been asking for more training from you. Do you plan on humoring her any time soon?"

"Feh, I am _not_ her master. Every challenge I gave her was just to get her off my back. I never actually expected her to succeed." the man let out a sigh. "I feel like some mischievous deity is playing a joke on me."

Kiriya gave a half-hearted chuckle. "I suppose that might be the case, but I like to think that you're just a good teacher."

"Don't call me that." Utakata responded instantly. "Despite what you might say, I am not fit to be a teacher, nor will I ever be. Such a concept is foolish."

"If that was the case, then how would we ever learn anything?" Kiriya asked as he pulled out a bottle of sake and some cups from somewhere. "To have someone to rely on for the answers, to help push you to better yourself, that is the purpose of a teacher. Drink?" he asked as he offered Utakata a glass.

The jinchuuriki gave a slight grunt in response and took the cup. Even if Kiriya's presence annoyed him, he would still take advantage of the mans good taste in sake.

"To protect the students lives, always trying to do what's best for them."

Kiriya's words were grating on Utakata's mind.

"... Even if what we do was the wrong thing in the end..." he said somberly as he took a sip from his glass.

For a moment, Utakata saw a flash of regret cross Kiriya's face. "A foolish sentiment. The master will always leave the student to suffer if given the chance." he replied as he sipped from his own glass.

"... I had a student once... Her name was Rin."

Utakata raised a brow at this. Despite having spent the past month in the older man's presence, he knew little about his background.

"She was my first student. I was still a wet-behind-the-ears teacher straight out of the academy. I had no prior experience in teaching, so I just had to do what I thought was right. I held her hand along the way, always there to catch her should she fall." he paused for a few moments. "And that was my mistake..."

Deciding to humor the man since he was confiding in him, Utakata played along. "What happened?"

"She was taking her final test in order to graduate. Part of it was dealing with dummy targets on the way to an objective. I was present in order to observe the results of her training... When she neared the end, she was attacked by two of the dummies that she missed. If she was hit, then she would fail and wouldn't graduate. So, I stepped in. Without anyone else noticing, I dispatched the dummies and she continued on her way. It was the biggest mistake I ever made."

"Why?"

"... When she was sent out on her first mission, she was reported dead after the first contact with the enemy... She wasn't ready for the field, but I thought she was..."

"She died because you thought you were doing what's best for her..." Utakata finished.

"Yes... Ever since then, I knew I couldn't go easy on any of my students, lest they suffer the same fate. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Utakata let out a long breath. "I think so... Still doesn't change my mind about teaching her though."

Kiriya shook his head slightly. "Of course... Just trying to help put things into perspective."

"And what perspective would that be?"

"That even teachers make mistakes every now and then... That's just how we learn..."

Utakata turned his gaze back towards the setting sun on the horizon. "Hnn..."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

 *****IMPORTANT PLEASE READ*****

 **Whether or not you are here for the Senran Kagura part of this fic, or the Naruto part, I need to spread word of this.**

 **SONY IS FULL OF SHITHEADS!**

 **I'm not sure if you are aware, but the game Senran Kagura Burst Re;Newal is coming out soon, but it has been struck with tragedy. Sony has decided that it needs to be censored, and as such, has removed the Intimacy mode in the character model viewer. For those who don't know, Intimacy mode is where you can interact with the girls by touching them. It's kind of like those animal games where you can pet the animals.**

 **Why Sony has done this is beyond me, as Shinovi Versus, Estival Versus, and Peach Beach Splash, ALL had Intimacy mode. Meaning that the last three that they released, had the exact same thing they are now removing! WHY?! Even the Senran Kagura games for the Nintendo platforms weren't censored like this, and Nintendo was censor crazy in the past!**

 **Not only has this resulted in the game being delayed, but it is bringing to light an even more serious problem.**

 **What does this mean for the future?**

 **Whether or not you are a fan of the Senran Kagura series itself, this problem will spread. In fact, it already has. A game by the name Omega Labyrinth Z was recently blocked from western release. I don't know the exact details of the game, but I believe it to be a dungeon crawler with fanservice, but not on the same level as Senran Kagura. To put this into perspective, the ESRB rated the game as M. Meaning that the standard for video game rating, found that it was okay for public release. And yet, Sony decided that it was too inappropriate. Even after a company spent all the time and effort to localize it! Meaning they did all that work for nothing, and Sony didn't even let them know ahead of time! What assholes!**

 **Now I know, most of you probably see Senran Kagura as just being a fanservice game, despite the fun gameplay and surprisingly emotional story.**

 **But what if this censor bullshit becomes a theme for Sony?**

 **Soon, it won't just be SK games and other fanservice games suffering for it. What if Sony decides to move on from just censoring nudity, to censoring gore as well?**

" **If you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you've already lost."**

 **This is not just about censoring adult themes, it's a matter of principle!**

 **Even if you don't care for the Intimacy mode, you should still stand up for it. Why? Because this my friends, is how it starts. This is how a genre of games dies. If this continues, then there might come a day when Senran Kagura will no longer be available to anyone outside of Japan.**

 **And that thought frightens me. Because Sony won't stop at just SK, they will spread their influence to other beloved Japanese game franchises.**

 **This will be how it ends people. Not with a bang, but a whimper.**

 **I hope you take this to heart and understand the magnitude of the problem.**

 **Well, now that I got that off my chest, on to the story.**

 **This chapter is solely comprised of several omakes that I wanted to fit in the previous chapters, but was too focused on the main story to do so. I would've added more omake to this chapter, but I wanted to get my previous message out.**

 **As it is now, I'm not sure whether or not I'll just do strictly omake chapters in the future, or just put them at the ends of chapters. It depends on my work flow.**

 **As for the omakes, some are shorter than others, some are actually canon to this fic and some aren't, and some are written by me and others by fans. I will leave details at the beginning of each one so you know.**

 **Some omake might just be short scenes that I couldn't fit in to the main story or forgot to add, and some are just shorter versions of the previous chapter style that would feel weak on their own.**

 ***** will mark the end of one omake and the beginning of another.**

 **So without further ado, let's get started!**

 **I hope you like, and be sure to review.**

 **Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

 **(-)**

 **This one is based on an idea pitched to me by THE-Twilight-BlazeKnight.**

 **Remember, I take suggestions for omakes, as well as accept any that you send me that you write. If I put them in, I'll give you credit for them.**

 ***Not Canon***

 **(-)**

Having been trained as a ninja since a young age, Homura had the lesson drilled into her mind that one of a ninjas greatest weaknesses was sleep. Not that she shouldn't sleep, but that she should be able to wake up and reach full alertness at a moments notice. Such a trait can make the difference between life and death when on a mission if you are attacked while indisposed. But for the first time in forever, she wanted nothing more than for the sun to be snuffed out so the light would go away and allow her a few more minutes of rest.

"Nnnghh... Too bright..."

As luck would have it, the alarm clock chose that exact moment to add to the girls misery. Its reward for doing its job was getting thrown across the room.

"Fuuuck..." groaned Homura as she started to properly wake. She felt unnaturally groggy and weak. "What the hell happened last night?"

Despite how hard she tried, the tanned girl was unable to recall what she had done that would result in her current state. Everything after lunch with Asuka and Honoka was blank. Letting out a yawn, Homura became aware of a heavy weight on her chest that hindered her breathing. Finally opening her eyes, she noticed the large bulge under the blanket that was draped over her.

"Hahh... Asuka really needs to buy herself a hug-pillow." the girl whined as she grabbed the blanket and lifted it up.

Only to have her eyes widen in shock at what she saw.

Asuka. NAKED.

What's more, she herself had not a stitch of clothing on either.

And to add to her problems, the still sleeping Asuka was sucking on one of her nipples.

Reflexively calling upon her ninja training, Homura managed to launch herself out of bed without disturbing her bedmate. Snapping her body to the wall, Homura's mind went straight into panic mode as several other things became apparent.

One; her loins were aching quite a bit.

Two; there was a faint smear of red on her inner thighs.

Three; there was an unmistakable scent in the air.

And as if to add to her panic, Asuka chose that moment to mumble in her sleep.

"Mmm... Taste so good Homura-chan~..."

Needless to say, said girl was able to sum up the situation quite eloquently.

"Oh shit..."

Rushing into the on-suite bathroom of their hotel room, Homura nearly ripped the sink handle off as she turned on the cold water. Taking a handful of the liquid, she splashed her face and vigorously rubbed.

"This is all just a dream. Just a crazy-ass dream. A crazy-ass, fucked-up, wet dream that is the result of not being able to masturbate for the past two weeks since Honoka joined us."

She continued to repeat this mantra with every splash of water to her face. Finally convinced that she wouldn't be waking up, she wiped the water from her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror... And let out a whimper at the sight of all the hickeys.

"Ohhh god..."

As her gaze towards the mirror hardened, she noticed something behind her reflection that was curled up in the tub. Turning around, Homura was greeted by the sight of a naked Honoka who was spooning with one of the hotels decorative potted plants.

"... This is all just a crazy-ass, fucked-up, drug-induced, wet dream... One that no amount of therapy can help resolve."

Suddenly feeling the pang of a headache, Homura brought her palm up to her forehead, only to feel something cool and hard stuck to her ring finger. Pulling her hand away, the girl paled when she saw it was a wedding band.

The following sound that Homura made was not so much a squeak, but more akin to the sound of cat getting strangled while playing the flute.

The sound of Asuka finally beginning to wake was enough to shake Homura from her trance, and the girl dashed back to the bedroom so she could try to do damage control.

"Nghh... Homura-chan?" Asuka asked groggily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Asuka, listen; whatever you do, don't freak out."

Although in Homura's mind she thought she sounded calm, to Asuka, the girls voice was laden with fear and panic. It took only five seconds for Asuka's vision to clear, allowing her an unobstructed view of the naked Homura who was standing at the foot of the bed, trying (and failing) to look as composed as possible.

"If we just talk this out, I'm sure there will be no need to get the authorities involved."

Suffice it to say, Asuka reacted as expected.

 *****2**

 **This is the official version of the previous omake. This was actually written by THE-Twilight-BlazeKnight, so all credit goes to them. All I did was fix spelling mistakes and the like.**

 ***Not Canon***

 **(-)**

"Finally we made it to a harbor!" Homura happily proclaimed as they stepped out of their boat.

"You can say that again, I'm just glad we don't have to travel by sea anymore." Asuka follows up just as excitingly as her friend/rival, Honoka, and herself stepped out of the boat.

"Hey look!" yelled Homura getting the attention of her companions "It's a bar, let's go get some food and drinks."

"Aren't you two underage?" Honoka stated.

"What they don't know won't hurt them, right Asuka?"

"Yeah, besides," stated Asuka as she was scratching the side of her face with her finger "I've always wanted to try it out myself, and we got plenty of money from that facilities safe, so we can spend a little for ourselves."

"Alright, that settles it, lets go, time to get some meat and show off my crab routine!" Homura shouted as she took off to the bar with Asuka not far behind.

"Well, I guess I could use a drink after what happened back at the facility." said Honoka as she started to follow as well.

 **Next morning...**

"Urgh… My head." groaned Homura as she was waking up naked with a hangover. "What the hell did we do last night?"

"I... ugh don't know." Asuka answered rather weakly as she too was waking up naked with a hangover "I can't...remember much."

"Same here... what do, ugh... you remember?"

"I... remember that we went to a bar and got some food and drinks... and I think there was a party too." said Asuka in a thinking pose.

"Yeah... I think I remember that too... Guess we went a little overboard huh?" Homura stated rather weakly while rubbing her head.

"Yeah... must have been a fun night... Too bad we can't remember it." answered Asuka with a small laugh as she rubbed her head.

"I hear that." answered Homura with her own laugh

"Wait, why are we naked?!" Asuka yelled as she realized her current state of dress.

"Whoa you're right!" and now Homura realized her state of dress as well.

"Well if it isn't our lovely new couple waking up from their first night together." stated Honoka with a small laugh, catching the attention of the two girls. "Can't believe you don't remember anything that happened last night."

The two girls stared at her for a moment having heard what she said, then looked at each other, silently asking if they heard that right and looked back at Honoka.

Asuka was the first to respond to that. "Um... Honoka, what are you talking about?"

She pointed at their hands "Your wedding rings."

Both girls looked down at their hands and realized that they did in fact have wedding rings on.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Homura shouted in shock.

"WE GOT MARRIED, TO WHO?!" Asuka followed up on Homura's shout.

"To each other." answered Honoka with a smirk silencing the two girls. "You two all of a sudden were telling each other how you really feel bout one another, saying how much you love each other."

"WHAAAAAAT?!" both girls shouted together with red faces.

"And you both wanted to marry each other right then and there, lucky for you there was a minister at that bar who does same sex marriages, and for some reason you two already had wedding dresses with your transformation thing, really sexy ones at that, so you had your wedding at the bar and had me buy your wedding rings while you set things up. Heck, you even made me your maid of honor".

Both girls were frozen in silence as Honoka continued. "I was shocked at how serious you two were at marring each other, can't believe you don't remember it at all, OH BOY, YOU TWO WERE REALLY DRUNK LAST NIGHT!" Honoka yelled as she started laughing.

And after calming down she spoke up again. "Well that's basically what happened. Anyways I'm still a bit tired, so I'm going back to bed."

Leaving the two girls stunned for a moment, until finally they broke the silence they found themselves in the only way they can reasonably break out of.

"EEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH?!"

 **Some time later...**

We find both Asuka and Homura now fully clothed and sitting in silence still in shock from what they learned.

"ARRRWWW! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Homura yelled while pressing her hands on both sides of her head in anger.

"I don't know." Asuka responded with a depressing aura surrounding her.

"This is all your fault Asuka!" an angry Homura yelled pointing at Asuka.

"How is this my fault?! Going to the bar was your idea!" Asuka pointed back.

"And you didn't do anything to stop me, in fact, you were all for it!"

"Don't pin this on me Miss Crabbie !"

"What did you call me Miss Clumsy big tits?!"

"Hey, your tits are big too!"

"Not as big and fat as your useless tits you ditz!"

"At least I'm not a simple minded idiot with a lame sense of humor!"

That last comment made Homura snap "ASUKA YOU USELESS BIMBO, HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY JOKES YOU TIT FOR BRAINS, I'LL GRIND YOU TO PIECES!"

And Asuka also snapped. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSULTS HOMURA, NOW I'M GOING TO SMASH YOUR STUPID FACE!"

"SHINOBI TRANSFORMATION!"

 **Later...**

We now find Honoka waking up after a much needed nap and she heads towards the washroom to splash her face for a much needed wake up call, all while passing a room with a large chunk of its walls destroyed and didn't even notice it.

"Aww, that's better~." she said as she took of her earplugs out. "Now, time to see how the love birds are doin- WHAT THE HELL?! What happened to the walls?!" now she notices.

 _'BOOM!'_

"What the?" she jumps out of the inn only to see a horrifying sight; the entire town looks like it suffered through a war with lots of buildings sliced in half and set on fire, giant stone spikes sticking out of the ground, scorch marks everywhere, some houses have been smashed by giant boulders, and remnants of explosions everywhere.

"This place looks like a war zone... What could have caused this? Where are Asuka and Homura?"

 _'BOOM!'_

She turned in the direction of the sound, only to see a massive fiery explosion followed by giant stone spikes emerging from the ground. The next thing she knows, a red and green blur are moving at such a high speed that she can't keep up with them and then the two blurs clash, causing a massive shockwave that destroyed everything in its blast radius.

An 80 meter blast radius.

Honoka couldn't believe what she just saw. Who could have cause such destruction and why?

After seeing the fighting dying down, Honoka finally built up the courage to go see who had done this and headed towards the place were the shockwave was caused, all while wondering what kind of monsters were strong enough to cause such destruction. They had to have been at least Kage level. All the while hoping that Asuka and Homura were ok. But as she made it to her destination, her eyes widened.

"ASUKA! HOMURA!"

Indeed, at the center of the crater were Asuka and Homura, and for some reason they were naked, and they were stroking each others faces.

But that's besides the point. When she saw them, she realized that they were the ones who caused all this chaos.

"THIS WAS ALL THEIR DOING!" OH, the amount of money it will take to rebuild this place, she can already feel her wallet being emptied. All 'cause of these two idiots overreacting to their marriage. Well, Honoka knew one thing for certain. "I AM GOING TO FUCKING MURDER THESE TWO!"

 **With Asuka and Homura...**

"Homura-chan, I really do love your crab and craw-fish acts, they're really funny and when you do them, you always do them with a smile. I really love seeing you smile~." Asuka said with a blush.

"Really?! That makes me so happy Asuka! Being with you always brings a smile to my face. Every time I'm with you, my body gets hotter and hotter, I love it when we do these kinds of things together~." Homura happily said with her own blush.

"H-Homura-chan, I-I feel the same way, being with you always makes me feel hot inside~."

Out of nowhere, a pink aura surrounded the two girls and many pink hearts and flowers began floating around them. Honoka wasn't sure if she was seeing things, what with the pink aura is getting stronger as they got more intimate with each other. Was this some type of genjutsu? "Oh great, now both are blushing up a storm."

"R-Really, Asuka? Y-you... feel the same?"

"Y-Yes... um... Homura-chan... do y-you think... that this... m-marriage between us... could work?"

"Y-Yeah... it will definitely work, 'cause we can make anything possible when we're together."

"That makes me so happy."

"A-Asuka..."

"H-Homura-chan..."

 _*KISS*_

WTF, is what Honoka is thinking after seeing everything unfold.

"Asuka... I l-love you."

"I l-love you too Homura-chan."

 _*KISS*_

Only this time they are using their tongues in a really intimate way that would give men a nose bleed.

 _*cough* *cough*_

Both girls stop their kiss to turn and see Honoka standing a few feet away from them.

"I hate to ruin your moment," the red-head said with a dead-pan look on her face as she glared at the two girls. "But what are you going to do about ALL THIS?!" she gestured to all the destruction. "YOU'RE LUCKY THAT NO ONE DIED IN THIS WHOLE MESS!"

Both Asuka and Homura could only sweat-drop at their handiwork as they finally realized what they did.

"AND PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON!"

And they also finally realized that they were still naked.

 **One week later...**

It took all the money they got from the facility to help get the town back on its feet, and they even helped with the construction itself. Well, mainly Asuka and Homura did. Honoka guilt tripped them to do most of the work.

"Not the kind of honeymoon I expected to have after my drunken marriage." said Homura with a monotone as she was wiping off some sweat with a wet towel.

"We can always have a proper honeymoon after we finish here. I heard that there is a town not far from here that's famous for their hot springs, we can go there." Asuka happily responded as she also wiped herself with a wet towel.

"Yeah, great idea Asuka! We can make some quick money with some mercenary work on the way so we can have a good time!" Homura happily proclaimed and Honoka decided to join in the conversation.

"That's a good idea and all... BUT DO YOU TWO HAVE TO WEAR SUCH REVEALING OUTFITS WHILE WORKING?!"

True to her words, both Asuka and Homura were only wearing a very small tank top and small bike shorts, black and white for Asuka and red and black for Homura, and they did very little to cover their beautiful figures.

"Oh, but these are so much easier to move in. Besides, they are so cute!" Asuka said as she did a little spin to make her point.

"Yeah, got to be easy to move in so we can get this done faster." Homura said as she showed off in hers as well.

 _'Do these two have no shame?'_ thought Honoka.

"Hey, why do I get the feeling that you're thinking something rude about us?" said Homura as she stared at Honoka with suspicion. Her eyes narrowed as Asuka was doing the same behind her.

"A-Anyways, lets just get this done so we can move on." Honoka desperately tried to change the subject.

In the corner of a building spying on them was a big busty beautiful girl enjoying her handiwork and everything that unfolded thereafter.

"Ara ara, this whole experiment was quite fun to watch~." she said this as she turned around and held some different colored vials while looking at them in amazement.

"It was well worth it to use my puppetry technique on that bar tender to spike their drinks with these Love Tonic and Honesty Tonic. Who knew they would try to marry each other on the spot? Makes me glad to have used my puppetry art on that minister as well, it feels like I was playing cupid for them, tee-hee~!" she said in glee.

"Though, I didn't expect for them to overreact to this extent. Who knew that those two got so much stronger since I last saw them. Though it was quite enjoyable to watch~."

"Is that right Haruka-chan?" came the eerily calm voice of Asuka from behind her. The tic mark on her forehead belying her true mood.

"Eeeek!" turning around, the now identified Haruka was greeted by the sight of a very pissed off Asuka and Homura.

"A-Asuka, H-Homura, what a pleasant surprise. It's g-good to see you both." Haruka makes an attempt to play innocent and ignorant.

"So, you were behind all this HARUKA!" yelled Homura as flames were erupting from the background, terrifying Haruka.

"Eeeek! P-please have mercy, I'm sorry!" Haruka pleaded, she still remembers what happened the last time she and Ryona pissed these two off in an attempt to make them into masochists and instead they turned into something more terrifying than a super sadist and took it out on them, and she did not want to go through that again.

"Mercy?" asked Asuka in a much too calm and gentle voice. "Do you have any FUCKING IDEA ON HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU GOT US INTO?!" she yelled in a way that is very rare for her, with flames in the background making a terrified Honoka wonder if it was a genjutsu.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think things would have escalated so much!" Haruka spoke out with tear drops in her eyes.

"Hey Asuka, why don't we show Haruka here how much we've improved since we got married?" said the tan busty girl as she pulled out her shinobi scroll with a wicked smile.

"Yes, lets show her how good we are together." replied the short busty girl as she also pulled out her scroll with a very friendly/scary smile.

"Shinobi Transformation!"

Now both Asuka and Homura were clad in sexy skin tight dominatrix outfits, exposing more of their sexy bodies than Shiki's usual shinobi outfit, colored in black for Asuka and Red for Homura, making all the male onlookers have nose bleeds, and armed with thorn whips, electric shock batons, and really big long metal rods that would break any woman.

"P-Please, anything but that!" Haruka pleaded once again, memories of the last time she and Ryona went through their torture were flooding her mind, the last time they went in their super sadistic mode they were capable of installing so much fear and pain that even a hardcore masochist like Ryona was terrified of getting hurt, only this time IT WAS MUCH WORSE.

Asuka stepped forward with an innocent smile. "Remember Ha-ru-ka-chan; pain is pleasure. TAKE THAT, TAKE THAT, TAKE THAT! WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT HURT SO GOOD!"

"NOOOOO!"

And now Homura stepped in. "TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS! YOU ARE REALLY ENJOYING YOURSELF, RIGHT HARUKA?!" she paused with a wicked smile. "AFTER ALL, YOU LIKE THESE KIND OF THINGS TO BE REALLY PAINFUL DON'T YOU!"

"MERCCCCCYYY PLEASSSSEEEE! I promise I won't do these kinds of things again!" her pleas fell on death ears.

"No backing out now Haruka, not when the real fun is going to start, right Asuka?" Homura spoke out to her wife while holding the giant metal rod with a sweet/evil smile that was terrifying the onlookers.

"W-Wait that thing w-will break me!"

"Oh don't worry Haruka-chan, it will feel really good~. Especially if we both do it together with you~." Asuka also spoke out with her own sweet/evil smile much like her wife, while holding the giant metal rod. "We'll make this really long and hard~."

"NOW TAKE THIS!"

"EEEEEEEEEK!"

 *****3**

 **A brief look at my alternate version of the first Naruto movie. As a side-note, the character in this chapter IS a Senran Kagura character, but she has absolutely no information about her on the SK wiki. So all I had to go on for writing her character was her name, appearance, and several pictures. I hope I did well enough.**

 ***Canon***

 **(-)**

Asama Sandayu was a man of few talents when it came to combat. He was not a ninja. Nor was he a samurai. His combat skills amounted to little more than blindly swinging a blade in the hopes it would strike his target. Even outside of combat, his somewhat feeble appearance gave off all the impression others needed to see just how pathetic he seemed. Though his loyalty to the late daimyo of the Land of Snow was nothing to scoff at, a loyalty he shifted to the daimyo's daughter after his passing, he still amounted to little more than a whipping-boy for the secret princess. But regardless of whatever forms of degradation he must face, he would endure it all for her sake.

He swore upon his life that he would protect Koyuki until such a time came when he was able to depose Doto from the throne he unrightfully sat upon, and allow the girl to take her place as the lands proper ruler. Years had passed since the coup, and what little resistance he was able to secretly muster to stand against Doto was as prepared as they could be.

Doto ruled with an iron fist, and few were able to stand against him. Those who did were gravely punished so as to dissuade others from trying as well. In the end it worked. Asama was barely able to get any aid from his own countrymen for his rebellion. No ninja were able to be swayed to his side, rather, he had to make due with a cobbled together militia of less than 60 samurai, most of which were simple laborers who had little to no combat training. But it was the best he could do given the circumstances.

The time had finally arrived. His 'army' was ready, he had convinced the movie director to bring them to the Land of Snow, and the princess was still in the dark about their destination. All that was left was for him to hire the last bit of assistance he could afford.

Ninja are mercenaries who would do anything for a paycheck, and the ones from the Land of Fire were no different. He just needed to find the best he could for what little money he had left.

In the end, he was forced to settle for a single kunoichi of no discernible renown. The woman only went by a single name, and he couldn't find anyone matching her description in the Bingo books. But with time running short, he had to make do with what he had.

In all honesty, he knew how grim things looked. About 50 novice samurai and a single kunoichi going up against the might of Doto's military? He didn't need to crunch the numbers to realize how much of a long shot this was. The odds of them winning were almost non-existent.

"W-who... the fuck do you... think you are?!"

Or at least, that's what he thought they were.

Asama stood at the front of his militia, acting as a bulwark to protect Koyuki and the film crew. Across the clearing where they had setup camp was a derailed train that was precariously hanging on the edge of the cliff side. Enormous pillars of Black ice stood erect in the place where the train tracks had once been. The bodies of numerous ninja littered the area, some dead, some dying, and others frozen in fear.

The bodies of Doto's three personal guards were each as lifeless as the snow in which they lay. One had their body broken into pieces after being frozen solid. Another had spikes of ice erupt from all over their body. And the last was impaled on a large spike of ice.

Blood had been spilled and stained the snow covered ground. From their slightly elevated position, the rebels noticed how the stains had taken the shape of a large red flower.

Asama wanted to believe it was a coincidence, but the kunoichi before him had displayed such skill, that he was couldn't accept anything other than it being intentional. Her skill was so superior to her opponents, that she was able to take the time to ensure the blood splattered in a set pattern to create the scene before them.

"I believe the better question is; who do you think _you_ are?" the woman responded in a cold tone.

Deathly pale skin, lifeless onyx orbs that gazed at her surroundings, and wavy midnight-black-hair that flowed down her back, and had two white lilies that were used to put her hair in pig-tails. Her outfit resembled a cheongsam, and was accented with black straps. The dress itself was black and lined with gold trim, and stopped just after covering her nipples, allowing her cleavage to be seen with a white lily in the center. Detached armlets covered her forearms with the addition of grey silk. A choker with another white lily was tied around her throat with a short black cape attached. And in her hand was a feathered fan with black and white feathers.

Doto growled out an obscenity as the woman seemed to look down on him.

"I came here with the express intent of testing this lands shinobi." she said as she played with the feathers in her hand-fan. "The Land of Snow, famous for its ninja who were proficient in hyoton no jutsu. I wanted to see how my ice stacked up against theirs."

She walked over to one of the dead shinobi and ripped a piece of his chakra armor off. "And what do I get instead?" she asked with disdain as she tossed the contraption towards Doto.

"Children with toys, playing at being ninja." the amount of disgust in her voice was immense.

"You dare... to call the technological pinnacle of my land... a mere toy?!" roared Doto.

The woman scoffed. "A real ninja gains their power through training, not petty parlor tricks." she looked at Doto as if he were a bug. "Power is earned in battle, not created in a lab."

Doto snarled in rage. "Power is power, it doesn't matter how one goes about obtaining it!" he barked as he wiped the blood from his lips. "My brother was nothing but a weak fool! He was more interested in appeasing the masses than building up our military might!"

Stomping his foot down, Doto mustered his strength. "The country _needed_ me to take his place!" he swung his arms outward. "I took this pitiful land and turned it into the mighty country it should have been! I created these weapons of war! I took our poor excuse for ninja, and turned them into to killing machines!"

"I AM THE RULER OF THIS LAND OF ICE AND SNOW!"

The kunoichi let out a reviled huff at the mans rant. "No. You are nothing more than a pathetic usurper. A petulant child who was envious of his big brother."

She took a step forward, and Black ice spread across the ground around her. "A parasite that chose to fatten up its host, waiting for the opportune moment to reap what it had sown."

Doto unconsciously took a step back as the woman approached.

"Everything you have created has done nothing but weaken your 'perfect army'. You have grown complacent in the belief that your technology would protect you. And that has resulted in the greatest fault that any warrior could fall victim to."

Pillars of Black ice erupted from the ground behind her.

"Stagnation."

When Asama had first been approached by the pale woman who had inquired about his job request, he wasn't sure what to think of her. Despite her somewhat sickly appearance, she had assured him that she would be enough to ensure the jobs completion. Given the small window of opportunity, along with the paltry amount of funds he had to work with, Asama was forced to rely upon the lone kunoichi. He had a feeling that she was strong, but it wasn't until now that he realized just how much of an understatement that was.

Doing his best to suppress the smile that was working its way across his face, Asama couldn't believe how lucky he was by hiring her.

"And in answer to your earlier question concerning my identity," she said as she continued to approach Doto, large flowers made of Black ice with sharp edges bursting forth from the ground with each step. "I am Fubuki, The Snow Flower of the North."

Doto whimpered.

She raised her hand-fan, the thorny vines of ice growing in length.

"Rozen Kroon."

 *****4**

 **A brief scene during Jiraiya and Murasaki's fight that I couldn't quite fit in without it being awkward.**

 ***Canon***

 **(-)**

Jiraiya wiped the sweat from his brow as he continued his battle with the girl known as Murasaki. He had to admit it, the quiet girl was giving him a run for his money. It's too bad they had to fight. He would have loved to get acquainted with those massive jugs hanging from her chest.

Still, there was one thing that was bothering him so much, that he just had to address it.

"Time out!" he shouted as he formed a T with his hands.

"Hnn?" Murasaki grunted as she hovered in air.

Jiraiya pointed straight at her. "I have to ask; just what the hell is up with your hair?!"

"... What do you mean?"

The Sannin ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I mean hair shouldn't be capable of that! You're swinging around giant fucking shuriken and flying for gods sake! How are you doing that?!"

"I... never really thought about it..." Murasaki answered after a brief pause.

Jiraiya sweatdropped. "You're telling me; your hairs strange ability, the very thing your combat style revolves around, is something you never put any thought into?"

Murasaki pursed her lips as she brought a finger up to them. "... I guess so."

"How long have you been able to do this?!"

"For as long as I can remember..."

"And you don't know the reason for it?!"

"... If I had to guess, I'd say it's because my roots are stronger than other people's."

Jiraiya's eye twitched.

 *****5**

 **A short story with Fuu that wouldn't really have a proper place in the main story. Also, can you figure out where the extra's in this omake are from?**

 ***Canon***

 **(-)**

In a secluded training ground in Takigakure, stood a single girl whose eyes were closed. Hanging in the trees surrounding her were several bags filled with sand for her to target. Her fingers twitched ever so slightly as she subtly manipulated the ninja wire that unspooled from inside her gloves. Once she felt satisfied with her preparations, her eyes snapped open and she swung her arms across her chest.

The effect was instantaneous. All of the sand bags had split in half from the wire slicing through them.

Fuu let out a satisfied huff as she looked over her work. It had only been a week since Yomi had gifted her the weapons, yet she had taken to them like a fish to water. Sure, there were plenty of ninja who were more proficient than her in utilizing ninja wire, but the amount of progress she made in a single week was staggering. Still, she had yet to practice on a moving target. That would be the real challenge. But until Yomi was confident in her skill, she would stick to the stagnant ones.

"Well, well, well..." a condescending female voice came from the treeline.

Fuu let out an annoyed sigh as she turned to face the approaching girl. Much to her displeasure, it was a group of bullies from the academy. Three to be precise.

First there was Aya, a girl with a somewhat plain appearance. She had straight black hair that went past her shoulders and wore a pair of circle-rimmed glasses.

The second was Rin, who stood out more than Aya thanks to her more stern attitude. Her face was rather nonplussed, but still managed to look appealing to the male demographic, and her dark-brown hair was tied in a ponytail with her bangs framing her face.

And lastly was the leader of the group, Saki. The blonde girl was as arrogant as arrogant could be, despite not having done anything to warrant such an attitude. In fact, the only thing she had going for her was being the heiress of one of the villages most prominent clans. But that didn't stop her from acting like she was Queen of everything she saw.

In all honesty, Fuu was convinced that her family had bribed the academy into letting her graduate. The girl was as dumb as a bag of rocks with a personality as blunt to match. It was no wonder that her team had yet to rise above doing D-rank missions.

On more than one occasion, Fuu had considered pranking the girl to get back at her for all the bullying, but more often than not she would end up making an ass of herself on her own. Not that she ever realized it. So Fuu decided to let her snide remarks pass since karma would usually do the work for her. No point in wasting her energy on an easy target.

But that still didn't stop the girl from getting on Fuu's nerves from time to time. Every time she heard her voice it was like nails on a chalkboard.

"It seems that Foolish Fuu is out playing with her new toys. How droll." the girl mocked as she turned her nose up at Fuu. "Tell me, where exactly did you steal such a fancy weapon from? There's no way you could afford something of that caliber."

Fuu opted to turn her head away as she reeled the ninja wire back in. "If you must know, they were a birthday gift from my nee-san." she replied curtly.

"Ohh~? Someone actually _gave_ them to you? I wonder why I have a hard time believing that. Oho, ho, ho!" she laughed in a mocking tone with the back of her hand over her mouth.

"And I wonder why I have a hard time believing you actually graduated." Fuu responded snidely. "How are those D-rank missions going anyway? I hear you had to fertilize the crops last week."

Saki's eye twitched ever so slightly.

"Probably the first time you ever touched crap in your life, as I'm sure you have your lackey's wipe your ass for you."

"You bitch!" snapped Rin. "How dare you insult Saki-sama in such a way! I should punish you right now so you learn your place!"

Rin took a step forward as she drew a kunai from her holster, but Saki raised her arm to stop her. "That will not be necessary Rin. We don't need to stoop to such a low level." she said as she brushed her hand through her hair. "It is the job of the lower class to train savage beasts."

Fuu's eyes narrowed in anger at that comment.

Saki then turned to leave as she gestured for her underlings to follow. But as she walked away, she cast one last glance back at Fuu. "Besides, I almost pity Foolish Fuu. She probably had to whore herself out to get such nice gloves~."

The green-haired girl snapped at that remark. The gloves were a gift from her nee-san, and to say such a thing was beyond insulting. She was moments away from chasing after the girls and unleashing her fury upon them, but a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

"Now, now, you mustn't let them get to you so easily."

Fuu's anger slowly dissipated at the calm voice of her nee-san. Turning, Fuu was greeted by the ever present warm smile that graced her guardians lips.

"But Yomi-nee-san, they said such awful things! They accused me of doing s-s-sexual favors in exchange for your present!"

Yomi nodded. "Yes, I'm well aware. I had been watching you for awhile now." Yomi replied, somewhat surprising Fuu.

"You were here? For how long?"

"Well, I wanted to see how your training was progressing, and I felt that you would be less nervous without me watching directly." the blonde answered truthfully. "Still, we need to work on your spatial awareness. You were here for half-an-hour and never noticed me."

Fuu's head drooped ever so slightly. "I'm sorry Yomi-nee-san."

Yomi ruffled the younger girls hair, resulting in her stumbling away and sputtering. "Not to worry Fuu, you're still a novice. It only makes sense that you make mistakes."

Fuu rubbed her arm. "I guess you're right..." she conceded. Moments later, her eyes widened in alarm. "Wait, you're trying to distract me from what Saki said!"

Yomi brought her hand up to her cheek in confusion. "Huh? Is that what I'm doing?"

Fuu dramatically pointed at Yomi. "Yes!" she accused.

"Ah, it seems I've been caught. Your nee-san has committed the horrible crime of trying to distract you from your problems. How will I ever make up for such a travesty?"

Feeling a bit bad for her outburst, Fuu was about to apologize, however Yomi interrupted her.

"I know! I think we'll finally move on to moving targets for your wire training!" Yomi said with a clap.

Fuu's eyes brightened up at that. "Really?!"

"Yep! And I know just the targets to use~."

 **(-)**

Saki and her two cohorts were walking down the main street of Takigakure. It was the middle of the day and the shops were bustling with activity. After having her fill of taunting Fuu, Saki still felt like she needed to cleanse herself of Fuu's lingering presence. And the best way for her to do that was some shopping.

"The nerve of that _thing_!" huffed Saki. "To talk to ME in such a way?! Unthinkable!"

"Of course Saki-sama." responded Aya.

"Truly the girl has no manners whatsoever." opined Rin.

"Why can't they just keep her locked up in a cage or something? The fact that she can openly walk the streets... It's like letting a rabid dog loose in an orphanage!" the heiress complained. "I think I need a new set of clothes now. These are soiled by _her_ presence." she said as she pulled at her shirt.

"Agreed Saki-sama. To continue wearing that outfit would be unbecoming of you. We must get it off as soon as possible." Aya spoke.

Little did they know, that hiding amongst the crowd were two individuals who were tailing them.

"Hmm, I feel like we should do miss Saki a favor and help her out of those clothes. What do you say Fuu?" asked Yomi.

Fuu had a mischievous smirk on her face as she began manipulating her wires. "But of course. Miss Saki surely needs help with undressing~."

As the trio of bullies made their way down the street, they failed to notice the wires that were being setup around them. Unaware of the impending danger, they continued forward.

 _*SLICE*_

And walked right through the trap. The wires had sliced through the waistband of their pants and the sleeves of their shirts, causing the garments to fall off their bodies, leaving clad in only their underwear.

It took a moment for the breeze to hit the girls bodies, resulting in them looking down and becoming well aware of their exposure. Out of instinct, the trio screamed in embarrassment as they tried to cover up, which only ended up drawing attention to them.

"Time to up the ante~." Fuu said as she continued to manipulate the wires.

Moments later, the girls bras fell from their chests, and their panties were pooled around their ankles.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" screamed Saki as she covered her breasts with one arm and her crotch with the other, which still left her butt on open display.

"And now, the kill~."

The wires were strung up over a power line above the street, and moments later, the girls felt their arms being lifted up, preventing them from covering themselves.

"DON'T LOOK!"

Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, their legs were lifted up as well, leaving them spread eagle with their pussies on open display for everyone on main street.

"See? It's much better to plan your revenge out than just act in the heat of the moment." spoke Yomi.

Fuu nodded in agreement. "Thanks Yomi-nee-san!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Hello there. I suppose you were expecting an A/N here courtesy of MementoMori115. Well, if you've taken a look at his profile then you already know why that isn't the case.

And since I'm in charge now, it falls to me to convey the mad ramblings he calls a story. He wants me to say some junk about hoping you like this chapter and all that crud, but frankly I'd prefer it if you burned the loser on a stake for this. so be sure to leave a shitty review for him. I'll make sure he gets the message~.

You may also notice that the idiot is taking forever to make things progress in this story. Lazy bastard. But seeing as how it's Christmas and everything...

Well anyway, read the following mess of words and then let him know how much you hate it.

And because even I can't escape lawyers, I have to say none of this is owned by him or me."

 **(-)**

It was raining.

The sky was weeping for those who had lost their lives in the recent conflict. Many had gathered beneath the Hokage's tower to hold vigil for the men, women, and children whose lives had been taken by the joint surprise attack of the Sand and Sound. On the surface, it was reported as being a simple power play by the two villages. The truth of the matter was kept quiet from the populace for the time being. The entire war was instigated by Orochimaru himself. He had killed the Kazekage and his security detail, and took turns with his disciple Kabuto to disguise themselves as the dead Kage and manipulate Sunagakure into agreeing to the attack.

Sunagakure declared a complete surrender to the Leaf, which was accepted without incident. But for the Leaf, with the consequences of the war still effecting them, it was decided that the restoration of the village was the more pressing matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the balcony of the Hokage's tower, looking out over all those gathered for the ceremony. A few bandages could be seen on his face and his arm was in a sling. But despite his injuries, the Will of Fire that burned inside him was still as bright as ever. And gazing upon the sorrow filled faces of the citizens, he was unable to stop the tear that dripped down his cheek.

"Citizens of Konoha!" he bellowed suddenly. "Three days ago the Sand and Sound launched an unprovoked attack against our village! And though we were able to repel them, the loss of life was severe! I will not lie, recovery from such a tragedy may take us years. But even then, we cannot make up for those who gave their lives to protect the village. The death of even a single member of our village will weigh heavily on my conscience for the rest of my days. To know that I was unable to fufill my duty of protecting all who reside here is a regret I will not let go."

For a few moments, Hiruzen remained silent to allow the people time to take in his words.

"But take heed! Our friends and family, though they are gone, the Will of Fire that blazed within each and every one of them continues to burn inside you!" he then brought his thumb up and pressed it against his chest. "THEIR SPIRIT WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU IN _HERE!_ "

"As long as you you keep them in your heart, their fire will never be extinguished!"

He words rang true. Throughout all the tears that were shed, and the downpour of rain that saturated the village, the fire that burned within each and every one of its citizens refused to be snuffed out.

A white-haired woman who stood amongst five of her friends towards the back of the crowd looked up at the Hokage with a smirk reminiscent of approval.

"Amidst the dark, how will your fire burn? Will it warm the weary? Guide the aimless? Shelter those without? You can define just how long and bright you burn."

"Miyabi-san?" Imu spoke in confusion.

Miyabi gave her friend a simple wave of dismissal. "It's nothing. Just something Suzune-sensei told me once."

The six other-world ninja had come to pay their respects for those who perished during the attack, despite not being official members of the village. It was a courtesy that they felt should be afforded. All of the girls were dressed in formal black outfits. Even Katsuragi had her blouse buttoned-up out of respect. However Miyabi had opted to wear a suit instead of a dress, something that surprised no one.

"Man, these guys are tough." Katsuragi remarked as her eyes drifted about the crowd. "To take such a devastating blow and still be willing to push on..."

"It just goes to show the strength that they each posses." added Yumi.

Miyabi nodded in agreement as her eyes were focused on Naruto. He was further towards the front, standing alongside the Hokage's grandson, as well as his academy instructor. Though she couldn't see his face, she could tell what he was feeling by how he held himself. His fists were clenched at his sides, and his back stood firm and tall.

"Strength indeed."

However the moment of pride she had for her impromptu student was somewhat ruined by the fierce stare directed at her and her friends, courtesy of a certain Uchiha brat.

 **(-)**

At a location hidden from the prying eyes of all the villages in the land, was an underground facility that served as the base of operations for the traitor Orochimaru. The former Sannin was beyond furious from the results of his move against Konoha. All the time and effort he had put in to planning and executing what should have been the deathblow to his former village, and it was all practically for naught.

The village remained standing and his sensei still lives. Sure, his attack caused massive damage to their infrastructure, resulted in heavy casualties, and he managed to seriously wound Hiruzen, but in exchange he lost the use of his hands.

He had not expected the Yumi girl to be capable of such a jutsu. Even now the appendages were encased in a shell of ice. Any attempt at trying to melt or chip away at the ice was met with failure. No matter the temperature it was exposed to, it would remain cold. Trying to break it with force was just a step less useful. Anything they tried to smash or chip the ice with would just slide off the surface. And there was no way he would risk doing something that could cause irreversible damage to his hands. He couldn't even get his chakra to flow into the ice.

"Damnit!" the snake-man cursed as he kicked over a chair. "It's just ice! How could that little bitch even pull this off?!"

"Well, it has become quite clear that Yumi, along with Miyabi, are capable of some unusual jutsus." spoke Kabuto. "It would have been rather difficult for anyone to have predicted this." he added, trying to placate his master.

Growling low, Orochimaru plopped down into his chair. "Shut your damn mouth." he replied with a glare. "I don't want your comforting words... They'll just make me want to kill you..."

Kabuto remained silent for a moment as he adjusted his glasses. "Of course, that was not my intention." he then began filing through some papers on the table. "While we failed in our goal of destroying the Leaf, you were still able to land a serious blow against the Hokage. He won't be returning to action anytime soon... Plus, you did place your Curse Mark on Sasuke, so that plan is still proceeding as expected."

Orochimaru began chuckling mirthlessly. "All that, at the cost of all my justus." he then looked down at his hands with a scowl. "It would have been so much easier if we could have swayed his brother to our side, but that was nothing more than a pipe-dream."

Nodding in agreement, Kabuto pulled out a notepad and began scribbling in it. "True, he was always too dangerous to approach. But there is no use in focusing on what we 'could have' done. For now, we have more pressing matters to attend to." he remarked as he pointed his pen at Orochimaru's hands.

"Tch, if her words are to be believed, then this ice won't be going away anytime soon." the former Sannin grumbled. "We need to find a specialist in the hyoton-no-jutsu, or an experienced med-nin."

"I'm afraid the first option is out." replied Kabuto. "According to reports, the Land of Snow recently had a rebellion take place. They are now 'under new management', so travel and recon will be exponentially harder than normal."

"Then we must settle on the latter." Orochimaru said with a grin. "And I know just the person~."

 **(-)**

Miyabi knew from the moment she saw the brats eyes that he was going to be trouble. It was a look she was quite familiar with seeing, especially in the eyes of shinobi who were driven by revenge. Just a single glance at him and she knew what he wanted.

She was familiar with the story of the Uchiha Massacre from years before, and subsequently the fact that his elder brother was the culprit behind said massacre. The kid wanted, no, demanded power. Nothing would stop him from achieving his goal, and he cared not to what lengths he must go to do it.

And Miyabi wanted nothing to do with it. She was well aware of what end awaits those whose only desire is revenge. Self-destruction, and the suffering of those around them. All to quell the rage held within, and to only be rewarded with a hollow feeling.

"No."

So when Miyabi answered the door and saw Sasuke standing in front of her, a stern look on his face, she didn't even let him speak before slamming the door in his face.

The violent banging that followed only cemented her opinion of the brat as being nothing but trouble. Not wanting her door to get broken, she swung it open once more, this time to glare at the kid.

"What?"

"Train me."

It was not a request, rather it was a demand. The sheer arrogance of the brat to even presume that she would humor him was beyond belief.

"Again; NO." Miyabi responded as she began to close the door once more. But this time the brat jammed his foot in the way.

"I need to get stronger." he said firmly.

"Considering your age, I'd say you're strong enough already. Mister Rookie of the Year." she responded snidely. "Go ask cyclops to train you if you're so desperate."

"I need strength like the dobe."

' _He still calls Naruto that, even though he's the stronger of the two... God this kid is an ass!'_

"And what makes you think that I'll train you?"

"As a member of the Leaf, it is your responsibility to aid your fellow citizen."

Miyabi smirked. "Try again. I ain't an official citizen of this place."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Then I'll-"

"And don't try to pull the whole 'blackmail' thing. The Hokage is in on this."

"... I'll pay you."

The white-haired woman scoffed. "Take your ryo elsewhere, I don't take bribes."

Sasuke growled low. "You _will_ teach me."

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Miyabi leaned over and stared Sasuke in the eyes. "You don't seem to understand how this works brat." she said as she pressed her index finger to his forehead. "The student doesn't get to pick their teacher, it's the teacher who picks the student."

Applying more pressure to her finger, she pushed the kid away and he stumbled backwards. "Besides, you already have a sensei. Go bother him."

"He can't give me the power you can!" the brat barked, finally fed up with Miyabi's dismissal of him. "I need to avenge my clan! I must kill my brother! And in order to do that I need power!"

However, Miyabi too was out of patience for dealing with Sasuke. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. "Listen brat!" she growled while still remaining quiet enough to not draw attention. "Power is not given freely, it is _earned_. What's more; I sure as hell ain't gonna give it to a loose cannon like yourself. I'd sooner give a gun to an ex-con than teach you jack-shit about being a shinobi. Because the ex-con would cause a hell of a lot less damage."

Throwing the kid to the ground, Miyabi shot him one last glare. "You desire power? Find a better reason for wanting it."

Having the door slammed in his face once again, Sasuke grumbled an obscenity before skulking off elsewhere. If Miyabi wouldn't help him, then there was still another five he could try.

 **(-)**

The atmosphere in the Hokage's office was just as tense as Jiraiya remembered it. Mission reports, supply requests, and other such papers were piled up on the desk in front of him, looking as if the slightest jostle would result in an avalanche. The man sitting behind said desk looked as if he had aged ten years in just the last few days alone. Despite how it appeared that the two of them were alone, the Toad Sage was well aware of the three ANBU members who were expertly concealed nearby. His gaze drifted out the window, taking note of the reconstruction effort in the distance.

" _Damn snake."_ he grumbled internally.

Noticing the anger in his former pupils eyes, the Hokage spoke up. "What's done is done." he said solemnly. "All that we can do now is prepare for the future."

Jiraiya sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Still, he's gone too far this time. Attacking his home village and trying to kill you."

Hiruzen frowned. "Agreed. But for the time being he has been crippled, so we don't have to worry about retaliation anytime soon. Besides, I'm sure it took every resource he had to pull this off."

"Yeah, yeah... So what now?"

The Hokage stood from his seat and turned to look out over the village from his window. "When I handed the position of Hokage to the Fourth, I assumed that would be the end of my career as a shinobi. I wanted nothing more than to quietly retire and spend my time painting."

"And reading my books." Jiraiya added with a chuckle.

Coughing into his hand, Hiruzen continued. "But with the Kyuubi attack, I was forced to take command of the village once more. I've had more than my fair share of time as the Hokage... I'll be honest with you, I'm not sure how many years I have left in this old body of mine."

"You say that as if you're gonna drop dead tomorrow."

Humming in thought, Hiruzen turned to face Jiraiya. "My era has come to an end. It is time for me choose the Fifth."

Jiraiya held up his hand and shook his head. "Nuh uh, don't you try to push this on me. I ain't the guy for the job. I already have my hands full with other things."

Shaking his head with a heavy sigh, Hiruzen gave the Toad Sage a weak smirk. "I wasn't going to. If I made you Hokage, you'd probably make a law within a week that all kunoichi are required to wear miniskirts."

Jiraiya had the decency to chuckle weakly and scratch his cheek.

"No, I think it's about time the Leaf had a female Hokage."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. There was only one person he knew that Hiruzen could be talking about. "You can't be serious." he said incredulously. "She swore she would never return. I have the scars to prove it!"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes. "Stop being overdramatic."

Throwing his hands up the air, Jiraiya scoffed. "Fine, whatever. I'd hate to be the poor sap who has to track her down and break the news."

Hiruzen smirked. "Funny you should say that. You just volunteered."

Jiraiya groaned in annoyance. "Of course..."

Palming his face, the Sannin sighed and resolved himself to find the violent woman. "I'll do it on one condition; I want to bring Naruto along."

Hiruzen raised a brow at that. "The reason being?"

The two stared each other in the eyes for a few moments, a silent conversation being held. Eventually Hiruzen sighed.

"Very well. Though I'm not sure what Miyabi will have to say about this."

Jiraiya scoffed. "Trust me, the kid could use some time away from that demon woman."

"Don't be so childish just because she stole your notebook."

Turning towards the door, Jiraiya waved goodbye. "Whatever you say old timer. I gotta find Naruto and get going."

Opening the door to exit the Hokage's office, the white-haired man was greeted by the twitching face of a white-haired woman.

"Demon huh?" Miyabi asked in restrained anger.

Hiruzen was actually impressed by how fast Jiraiya managed to put as much distance as possible between himself and Miyabi. Chuckling, the Third waved the girl in.

"Given that you aren't chasing him down, I'd wager you are okay with this?"

Miyabi shrugged as her face relaxed. "It'll be good for the kid to get some extra experience."

The Hokage nodded. "Agreed."

He then tapped the floor with his cane several times. Miyabi could faintly hear as the hidden ANBU took their leave. Now the two of them were alone.

His face becoming stern, Hiruzen focused his hard gaze on Miyabi. "Though you are not a member of this village, you have more than proven your loyalty. If not to us, then to Naruto and myself. You have taken the boy under your wing and trained him to become stronger, as well as protect when needed. And through your planning, I was able to survive an encounter that most likely would have killed me."

Miyabi crossed her arms. "I guessing that you're trying to get at something. You didn't call me here for idle chat."

"... What I am about to tell you is a secret of the highest rank. One that only I am supposed to know."

Narrowing her eyes, Miyabi sat in the empty chair and listened intently.

"The only reason I am telling you this is because you are an outsider, but you are still an ally in the grand scheme of things. The fact that you haven't spirited away Naruto is proof of that. Especially since this in part involves him.

There exists an organization of missing-nin known as the Akatsuki. To describe them as dangerous would be an understatement. And from what we know, their current objective seems to be the capture of the jinchuuriki."

"Naruto." Miyabi said in understanding.

"Yes, but there is more to it than that." Hiruzen said as he pulled out a file. Opening it, the contents were revealed to be a profile on one of the Leaf's missing-nin; Itachi Uchiha.

"The culprit behind the Uchiha massacre."

Hiruzen nodded. "Correct. However not all is as it seems." casting his gaze about to make sure the room was secure, he stared back at Miyabi. "I have a job for you."

 **(-)**

Walking down the streets of Konoha was a pair of girls who stood out quite a bit, if only because of how one of them was dressed. Katsuragi was whistling a little tune as she walked alongside Hikage. Her hands were clasped behind her head, and with every step she took her 'assets' would give a healthy bounce. Since things had finally calmed down to an acceptable level, Katsuragi wanted to take a little tour of the village, and she insisted that Hikage be the one to show her around.

"Ne, Hikage-chan, I'm getting hungry. Do you know any good ramen places around here?" the blonde asked as she turned her head to face her friend.

"Unsure." the green-haired girl responded plainly. "I saw no reason to learn more about the towns restaurants once I found one that I could afford."

Katsuragi pouted childishly. "Aww man! I want ramen! I want ramen! I haven't had any ramen in days!" she then shook her hands in the air. "I'm dying of ramen deprivation here!"

"Throwing a tantrum won't do you any good." Hikage responded.

"Don't care, need ramen!"

"Hey lady!" a voice called out.

Turning to the source, the duo saw it was the kid that Miyabi was looking after. But neither of them recalled his name.

"You said you're looking for good ramen?!" he asked excitedly.

"Hell yeah I am!" answered the blonde girl. "You know a good place?"

The kid smirked and chuckled low. "Heh, heh, 'do I know a good place?'." he then jabbed a thumb at his chest. "Follow me to the promised land! The greatest ramen stand in all the land awaits us! To Ichiraku we go -dattebayo!"

Watching as the kid took off running, Katsuragi grabbed Hikage's arm and dragged her through the air like a ragdoll as she chased after the kid.

"Yahoo!"

"So loud..."

After nearly bowling over half the village in their rush to get to Ichiraku's, the kid finally came to a stop in front of a modest looking street stall. Katsuragi skidded to a halt moments later, and inadvertently caused Hikage to slam into her side and knock her over.

"Don't do that again." Hikage remarked as she rolled off Katsuragi's body.

"Sorry!" the blonde replied as she clapped her hands together in apology.

"Whoah! What's all the ruckus about?" asked the man behind the counter.

"Yo, Teuchi-san! We got a code red!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Code red?! You mean someone hasn't tried my ramen yet?!" Teuchi asked in joking concern.

Katsuragi was suddenly sitting on one of the empty seats with stars in her eyes. "Gimme the best ramen you got!" she said as she slightly drooled.

Teuchi gave the girl a grin and a thumbs up. "You got it! One Konoha Special coming right up!"

"Make it two!" Naruto added as he took a seat.

"And what about your friend?" the man asked as he pointed towards Hikage.

The girl blinked a few times before opening her mouth. "Actually I-"

"She'll have one as well!" Katsuragi answered for her.

The green-haired girl stared blandly at Katsuragi, evidently trying to convey annoyance.

"Come on Hikage-chan! Join in the fun!" the blonde girl said as she patted the empty seat next to her. "And don't worry about the bill, I've got it covered!"

Hikage's eyes glanced up for a moment as if looking for an answer that wasn't there. Then she closed them and shrugged before sitting down.

Seeing as how it would take a few minutes for their orders to be ready, Katsuragi decided to start up a conversation.

"So, what's your name kid?"

Naruto grinned as he jabbed his thumb at his forehead protector. "The name's Naruto Uzumaki! Proud genin of Konoha and future Hokage -dattebayo!"

"Ramen eh?" Katsuragi mused with a smirk. "I like your name kid!"

"Thanks! So who are you? You must be new in town if you haven't heard of Ichiraku's."

The blonde girl nodded. "I guess you could say I'm new in town. And the name's Katsuragi." she then nudged Hikage with her elbow. "And Miss Quiet here is Hikage."

Naruto cocked his head to the side in thought. He swore he heard that name somewhere before. "Hikage, Hikage... Wait, do you happen to know Shikamaru?"

The girl nodded as she popped one of the free crackers that were on the counter into her mouth. "Teaching him."

"Oh! So do you know Miyabi-nee-chan?"

Katsuragi nearly spluttered at Naruto's title for Miyabi. "Don't tell me she lets you call her that?" she asked between chuckles.

"Well she didn't like any of the other names I called her, so one day she threw up her arms and said 'You know what, just shut up and call me nee-san or something'."

"Heh, sounds like something she'd say." mused Katsuragi.

"Hey Naruto!" a voice called out. Katsuragi and Hikage recognized the man from when they met during the attack.

"Oh, it's just you ero-sennin." responded Naruto.

"Aha, ha, ha! Love the nickname old timer!" guffawed Katsuragi.

Jiraiya weakly scowled. "Jeez, look at the trouble your stupid nickname is causing me." he grumbled. "Soon my reputation will be tarnished."

Naruto sweatdropped. "I think it was tarnished when you started writing porn."

Katsuragi broke out into uncontrollable laughter.

A vein on Jiraiya's forehead throbbed. "Listen here you..."

"Order up!" spoke Teuchi as he placed three large bowls of ramen in front of Naruto, Katsuragi, and Hikage.

The three promptly ignored the Sannin as they broke apart their chopsticks and clapped their hands.

"Itadakimasu!"

Naruto and Katsuragi began eating at a rapid pace, while Hikage was more restrained.

"Don't ignore me!" barked Jiraiya as he shook his fist. "I came looking for you out of the goodness of my heart because I have an important mission, and you're coming with me!"

Naruto turned to the man as he slurped some noodles. "Huh? Mission?"

Jiraiya nodded with a huff as he crossed his arms. "I've gotta find someone important and bring them back to Konoha. And since you're training under me, I find it appropriate that I have you tag along."

Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Is Miyabi-nee-chan okay with this?"

"Shhh!" Jiraiya hushed as he put a finger to his lips. "I don't want the demon woman to find me, so I'm just gonna take you."

A rather mischievous grin split Naruto's lips. "Demon woman eh? I'm gonna tell on you to Miyabi~." he said sinisterly.

Jiraiya began to sweat nervously. "Oh no you don't!" he shouted as he reached for Naruto.

"Time for an instant knockout!" the blonde genin said as he made a handsign. "Sexy-no-jutsu!"

One large puff of smoke and a nosebleed later, and Jiraiya was on the ground sporting a blush as a sexy naked blonde woman that resembled Naruto stood over him. She cutely blew the Sannin a kiss. "Sorry hot stuff, but I got places to be~."

Naruto was about to undo the transformation, but he froze when he heard something disturbing behind him.

"Mweh, heh, heh, heh~!"

Suddenly he felt his 'breasts' being grabbed from behind, as another large pair pressed against his back.

"Wow kid, you should've told me you could turn into a hot babe~!" cooed Katsuragi as she groped Naruto. "These are some pretty impressive knockers~!"

"W-w-what are you doing?!" exclaimed the female Naruto.

"You really think you can flaunt such a sexy bod right in front of me and not expect me to take advantage of it? No way in hell I'm passing up a chance to grab these fun bags~!" she cheered as her hands continued to roam her body.

Meanwhile Jiraiya was having a sudden mental crisis. While the display in front of him was extremely hot and he would no doubt work it in to his next book, the girl was still molesting his god-son. So he was torn between helping Naruto escape, or letting the scene continue to unfold.

"Ah! Hikage, help me!" Naruto pleaded as he tried to reach out to his only chance of help.

The green-haired girl sighed as she pushed her bowl of ramen away. "Hey, Katsuragi..."

"Hmm?" Katsuragi grunted with a lecherous grin as she turned to face Hikage.

In one swift motion, the stoic girl grabbed the bottom of her sweater and pulled it off, along with her bra. Her pert breasts were now exposed, yet she showed no embarrassment whatsoever.

There was a glint in Katsuragi's eyes as she leapt at Hikage and buried her face in her bountiful bosom.

While Katsuragi was distracted, Naruto quickly transformed back and grabbed Jiraiya's arm, pulling him away from the two girls. "Forget about what I said, just get me outta here!"

As the blonde girl continued to enjoy her skinship with Hikage, said girl was absently wondering why she had offered herself up to Katsuragi. Sure, part of it was to help out Naruto because...

...

But she still wondered why exactly she went about it the way that she did. She could have just pulled the lecherous girl off of him, or knock her out from behind, yet she chose to surrender herself to Katsuragi.

Though she hadn't realized it, Hikage's lips had curled up ever so slightly that it would be impossible to notice unless you were on the lookout for it. A warm feeling was starting to form deep within her body, but before it could grow enough for her to notice, the two of them were interrupted.

"What the hell are you doing in public?!" cried a young male voice.

Both girls glanced to the side where they saw one of the villages genin that they recognized from the funeral. He was blushing at the sight of them, and was torn between looking away and glaring in their direction.

Katsuragi pouted. "Pooh! You're ruining my fun!" she whined.

Hikage took the opportunity to put her sweater back on as her friend helped her off the ground.

"What do you want?" Hikage asked, feeling annoyed by the boys interruption for some reason.

"You two are part of Miyabi's group, right?" he asked firmly.

Katsuragi hopped back in her seat at the counter before answering. "We aren't part of her 'group', but we are friends with her."

The boy walked over to the ramen stand and slammed his hand on the counter. "I want you to train me."

The blonde girl chuckled as she pressed the end of her chopsticks against the boys forehead. "Why do you think I'll train a kid I don't even know?"

Hikage had returned to her seat as well. "I think his name is Sasucake or something."

The boy growled. "It's Sasuke."

"Well sorry Sasuke, but I'm only interested in training girls." Katsuragi answered off-hand as she returned to her meal. "Come back if you grow some massive mammaries and then we'll talk."

Glaring at the blonde, Sasuke then shifted his gaze to Hikage.

"No. Already have a student." she replied before he could ask.

"I don't care! I need to get stronger! It's the only way I can kill my brother and avenge my clan!" he said as he slammed his fist on the counter even harder. This time hard enough to knock over Katsuragi's bowl of ramen.

The girl blinked and stared at the remains of her meal, now spilled all over her lap.

Hikage scooted over to the next seat and covered her ears.

Sasuke, of course, was unaware of his impending doom.

Katsuragi slowly stood up, causing the food to slide off her clothes.

"Well?" asked Sasuke.

Her head tilted down, casting a shadow over her eyes. She grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the street. Thankfully it was empty, so no one would yell at her for what she was about to do.

"W-what are you-?!"

Sasuke was unable to finish his sentence as Katsuragi tossed him several meters in the air.

She unsealed Dragon Rebellion, the boots now on her feet. As Sasuke began his descent, screaming for the entire duration, Katsuragi rapidly spun on her heels. As her speed increased she quickly switched to her hands, powerful winds whipping up as she did so. Once Sasuke reached ground level, Katsuragi's shin struck him in the stomach.

"Tornado Spindle!"

The boy was flung into the distance, far away from the girl.

"Too much?" asked Hikage.

Katsuragi snorted in anger. "I made sure he would land in the river."

 **(-)**

Despite how long it had been since he had been defeated during the Chuunin exam prelims, Neji Hyuuga was still obsessing over his loss. The main reason for that being the one who defeated him. The timid girl he had written off as nothing but a weak wallflower. The hand at his side clenched into a fist and his lips curled down into a frown. Going against all logic, not only did Hinata beat him, but she absolutely destroyed him.

For the beginning of the fight everything was going as it was meant to be. The young heiress put up what little of a fight she could, yet it was only natural that she would fail to so much as harm him. Then that damn blonde brat started spouting some nonsense about how Fate wasn't set in stone.

He scoffed at the memory. Everyone is bound by fate. The course of your life is determined even before you are born.

But it was at that point that something went wrong. The weak little girl who wouldn't so much as harm a fly, had suddenly transformed into a dangerous predator. Back then he had denounced such a possibility, stating that she was destined to lose the fight. However thinking back on it, it somehow made sense. The main house of the clan would forever stand above the branch house. So it stood to reason that it was only a matter of time before Hinata took her rightful place in the hierarchy. To be the one who is greater than him.

He felt like a total fool, believing that he would forever be the stronger of the two. Unable to comprehend his own fate... He was blindly struggling against it this whole time, only for reality to strike him down mercilessly. Just more proof that life is predetermined.

So it was only natural that he found himself in his current situation. Hinata had called him out to meet at a restaurant in town, said she wanted to talk.

He had no power to deny her request. She was the one with standing in the family, and he amounted to nothing more than a slave.

Still, even as the meek girl sat quietly across from him, pressing her fingers together in her usual habit, he couldn't help but feel cheated. She claimed that she had something important to talk to him about, yet she insisted they wait for her 'sensei'.

Neji knew she wasn't referring to Kurenai when she said sensei. No, he was well aware of the young woman who had frequently shown up at the compound ever since the prelims. Not only did the heiress have a jonin teaching her team, but she was getting private tutoring from another kunoichi as well. A little 'eavesdropping' informed him that the woman's name was Yumi, but he was unable to gather much else. He would sometimes hear her talk about friends and family, but she never gave any names.

Tapping his index finger on the table, he was starting to get impatient. He finally spotted the familiar bow she always wore amongst the crowd. Relaxing his body slightly, he uncrossed his legs as she approached.

Yumi gave a slight bow as she reached the table. "My apologies for running late, but I was nearly trampled by a boy who was dragging a white-haired man behind him. It looked as if they were trying to get away from something in a hurry."

"T-that's okay Y-Yumi-sensei." responded Hinata in her usual timid way.

Neji's lip twitched ever so slightly at the girls attitude. Despite everything she had been through as of late, she still acted like a frail little bunny.

Yumi then turned to face Neji. "So, you must be Neji. It is nice to finally meet you in person. I must say it was rather awkward watching you spy on us the past few weeks."

Hinata evidently was unaware of his presence, given how she recoiled in surprise. He himself was slightly surprised that she had noticed him, even though she never acted like she did when he was around, but the more he thought about it the more he was able to realize her skill.

Clearing his throat, Neji decided on his response. "Well it's not every day that we play host to an outsider in the compound. Especially such a frequent visitor."

Yumi nodded. "True. But if you wanted to talk with me, all you had to do was ask."

He shook his head. "It would have been improper of me to interrupt Hinata-sama during her training. As a member of the branch house, I must not inconvenience members of the main house in any way."

The older girl smiled lightly. "I see... You are just as Hinata described you."

Neji raised a brow at that. "What?" he asked in curiosity. Not once did he recall Hinata talk about him to Yumi. Then again, there was the possibility that it occurred when he wasn't around.

"Yes, she said that you are very set in your ways. Obsessed with predetermined outcomes, yet never willing to fight against them." Yumi's smile turned sad. "That is a rather unfortunate way of viewing things."

He scoffed. "Every aspect of our lives is set in stone before we are even born. As such, there is no point in trying to fight our fates. Even my defeat at her hands was inevitable now that I think about it. The main house will always be the better part of the clan."

"T-that's n-not true N-Neji-nii-san." Hinata quietly interrupted. "You c-can fight against f-fate."

The boy scowled at her. "Only those who Fate favors can say such a thing. You don't know what it's like to be the one who suffers."

Standing up and slamming his palms on the table, Neji glared at his cousin. "All your life you've had it easy. Being the clans heiress, you were coddled since birth. Even though you've been nothing but a disappointment to the elders, they still put up with you. If you had been a member of the branch house, you wouldn't have lasted a day."

Yumi was growing concerned for Hinata as Neji continued his tirade. But noticing that the girl had yet to shrink away from him was enough to waylay her worries.

Once Neji seemed finished with voicing his opinion, Hinata finally responded.

"You're right..."

"Hnn?"

The meek girl suddenly gazed up at him. No longer were her eyes filled with fear. No longer did her hands tremble with indecision. It was like she was a totally different person.

"I wouldn't have lasted as a member of the branch house, but you did! You were always the stronger one, always the braver one, always the smarter one! But even so, I constantly tried to better myself!" Hinata 'shouted' as she stood up as well. "You always said that I would be the weaker one, that it was my fate... But look at me now! I defeated you, confessed my love to Naruto-kun, and even fought a giant sand tanuki while riding on the back of an enormous flaming fox! I fought against my destiny, so why don't you fight yours?!"

By the time the heiress had finished her argument, she had realized just how close she was to Neji as she was yelling. Quickly retreating back to her seat, she buried her face in her hands.

"I-I'm s-sorry Neji-nii-san! I-I didn't m-mean to g-go that far!"

The girl awaited her cousins backlash, but it never came. Instead, she heard a faint chuckling. Looking up, she saw that Neji was holding one hand against his forehead as he began to laugh quietly.

"Even though you have this newfound strength, you still go straight back to being timid once you lose steam."

Neji shook his head slightly as something reminiscent of a smile crossed his face.

"I guess fate is a bit more complicated than I thought..."

Hinata smiled back at Neji as he finally was willing to accept that maybe Fate isn't something so abstract after all.

However the moment was somewhat ruined seconds later.

"You!" came a shout.

The trio turned to see a soaking wet Sasuke Uchiha who was pointing directly at Yumi. The boy looked rather angry, and it seemed he was planning to unleash it at them.

"You taught Hinata, correct?"

Yumi's brows furrowed. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Stomping over to their table, Sasuke let out a ragged breath. "I need you to teach me."

Neji clicked his tongue. "Why don't you go elsewhere. You're ruining my good mood."

Sasuke shot a glare at the Hyuuga prodigy. "Stay out of this." he growled. "My business is with her alone."

Remaining impassive, Yumi tried to diffuse the situation. "Let's all calm down for a moment." she said as she held up a fan. "Now tell me Sasuke, what is it you want me to teach you?"

"I need to get stronger." he answered simply.

"For what reason?"

The boy was getting annoyed at having to constantly repeat himself. "I need to avenge my clan. And to do that I need the strength to surpass my brother."

Yumi used her fan to tap her chin in thought. "Well, I suppose I can offer you some lessons during my time teaching Hinata, but I-."

"I don't give a damn about the pathetic heiress. Just drop her and give me your full attention. I'll even pay you."

Both Hyuuga's along with Yumi frowned.

"I have already pledged myself to helping Hinata as she was in desperate need of a more effective form of training. I am not going to just cast her aside at the drop of a hat." Yumi replied. "Unless I am given a good enough reason, I will not leave her."

"Justice should be a good enough reason." Sasuke barked in response.

Yumi snapped her fan closed. "No. What you seek isn't justice, but vengeance. Now that I understand that, I will have to decline your request. Only those whose vision isn't clouded by rage can hope to become a proper shinobi."

Sasuke barely held back a roar of anger as he ran his hands through his hair and stormed off.

Seeing as how the nuisance was gone, Yumi picked up a menu from the table. "I suppose we can order now. What would you like? It'll be my treat."

 **(-)**

Miyabi stifled a weak yawn as she walked down the streets of Konoha. She swore to Hiruzen that she would keep what he told her to herself, but it was still some pretty serious stuff. Rummaging through her pocket, she found she had enough spare ryo to stop for a bite to eat. She also made a mental note that she wouldn't need to buy as much food for the next while, seeing as how Naruto had left on a trip with the ero-sennin.

"Yo! Miyabi!" a voice called out.

The white-haired woman turned to see a familiar lazy-ass. "Oh, hey cyclops." she greeted with a wave. The jonin was leaning against the wall of a modest looking dango shop. "You waiting for someone?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "Kinda. I told Sasuke that I wanted to meet with him, but I haven't seen him all day."

Miyabi sighed at the mention of the kid. "The damn brat was breaking down my door earlier trying to strong-arm me into helping him. But after I told him to piss off I don't know where he went."

"Maa, why is it that I can't keep track of my genin?"

Miyabi chuckled as she headed into the dango shop. "Keep 'em on a leash whilst you're at it."

Upon entering the establishment, she noticed it was somewhat empty. Then again, it was already past lunch time. "I suppose it's about time I treated myself to something nice." she mused as she took a seat at an empty table.

Opening up a menu, she remembered the teachings of Suzune-sensei.

" _When undertaking a mission where you must covertly observe or make contact with a target, remember these tips."_

Briefly looking over her menu, she spotted two strangely dressed individuals.

" _Constantly keeping your eye on the target is the worst thing you can do. It is so obvious that you might as well be waving at them."_

She looked at the two with a confused gaze. They wore a matching pair of large black overcoats patterned with red clouds.

" _But the same can be said for the other extreme. If you completely ignore the target, then that is also incredibly suspicious, especially if the target is skilled enough to notice."_

"What the hell kind of clothes are those?" she muttered to herself.

" _Humans are curious by nature. More so when they have nothing else to occupy their time. It is natural for their eyes to wander about and observe their surroundings."_

"Weirdos..." she said quietly as she returned her gaze to her menu.

" _Make sure that you acknowledge the target at least once, so it doesn't seem like you're intentionally ignoring them."_

Miyabi heard a faint grunt of annoyance from the taller of the two at her remark. She then waved over the waiter and placed her order. Now all she had to do was wait.

"Oh! Asuma, Kurenai, what are you two doing here? You sneaking in a little date between missions?"

She could hear Kakashi outside the shop calling out to his fellow jonin-sensei's.

"Idiot!" Kurenai responded with a blush. "Anko asked me to pick her up some sweets."

Asuma took a drag from his cigarette and puffed out some smoke. "What about you Kakashi? You picking up some sweets too?"

"Not really. I prefer delivery." he answered. "I'm actually waiting for Sasuke. He was supposed to meet me here, but it seems he's taken off."

"Wait, ain't that him over there?" Asuma asked as he pointed down the street.

Kakashi turned to see his genin student stomping down the street. Soaking wet and looking even more dour than usual.

"Hey Sasuke!" he called out.

Miyabi idly noted how the two men in jackets subtly took their leave. She also noticed how the shorter of the two tossed his scrunched up napkin into the trash bin. She also noticed how both Kurenai and Asuma were painfully obvious in their 'observation'. Miyabi had to physically restrain herself from berating them.

As her targets left, she watched as the two jonin shared a quick look.

' _They aren't that stupid. They CAN'T be that stupid.'_ she repeated in her mind.

Then the two of them took off.

Miyabi sighed through her teeth. _'They are that stupid.'_

Seriously, they might as well be holding up big flashing neon signs that say 'WE ARE WATCHING YOU!'.

' _I'm beginning to question the capability of all these morons.'_

A few minutes later after eating her treats, Miyabi walked over to the trash bin and pulled out the napkin. Held within the crunched up paper was a small capsule no bigger than her thumbnail.

"At least I know what I'm doing."

She then heard an explosion in the distance.


	14. Chapter 14

"Lookie, lookie! I managed to get the jackass author to finish another chapter! Seems like he's finally trying to get things in motion. The idiot severely underestimated how long he thought it would take to get this far. But he does seem quite proud of the fact that this is his first (and likely only~) story to break 100k words.

Just make sure that after reading this chapter, you bitch about how much it sucks in a review. I'm sure he'll send his thanks for a thorough tongue-lashing.

And once again, fuck you lawyers, nothing is owned by anyone. Not even you."

 **(-)**

To say that Hinata Hyuuga felt like she was floating on cloud 9 would be a bit of an understatement. Ever since she encountered Yumi and subsequently became her student, things had finally started looking up for the heiress. Yumi helped train her up so she would be strong enough to make her father proud, she managed to settle her differences with her cousin Neji, and she even managed to confess her feelings to Naruto. That last one she was especially happy about. The boy she admired from afar for so long had acknowledged her and formed a proper relationship with her.

The girl blushed at the thought and covered her cheeks with her palms, earning a curious look from Yumi and Neji who were walking alongside her.

"Something the matter Hinata?" asked Yumi.

She spun to her sensei in alarm. "N-no! Nothing i-is wrong at a-all! I-I wasn't t-thinking about N-Naruto-kun o-or anything!"

Neji shook his head with a chuckle. "If you say so."

Yumi also tittered slightly at her students obvious affection for the blonde boy. It was such a sweet and innocent thing that suited the meek girl perfectly.

"Speak of the devil..." remarked Neji as he looked ahead.

Turning her gaze upward, Hinata spotted Naruto quickly working his way through the crowd and towards them.

"I wonder what your boyfriend wants?" Yumi spoke slightly teasing.

Hinata's heartbeat hastened as the blonde approached, and the organ nearly jumped out of her chest when he skidded to a halt right in front of her.

"Listen Hinata-chan, the boss wanted me to relay a message to you." spoke the boy.

The fact that he said 'boss' meant that it was just a shadow clone who was acting as a messenger for the real Naruto. Hinata was slightly disappointed that it wasn't actually Naruto, but the fact that he sent a clone to see her was still nice.

"In the interest of protecting his chastity, boss has to go on a trip for a short while. He is currently accompanying the Sannin Jiraiya on a special mission assigned to them by the Hokage himself."

Hinata quickly began to fret over what the clone had said. "C-chastity?!"

The clone nodded. "A perverted blonde girl saw him use his... Sexy-jutsu," he quietly murmured that part in embarrassment. "and she proceeded to molest him. So he needed to skip town for some time. He wanted me to give you his most heartfelt apologies." the clone then clapped his hands and bowed.

Hinata noted that for some reason Yumi shook her head and sighed in exasperation.

"W-well, as l-long as he does h-his best t-to be c-careful. Tell him I w-will miss h-him."

The clone stood back up and gave a rigid salute. "As you wish Hinata-hime!"

As the clone took his leave, Hinata couldn't help but swoon at the title.

' _Naruto-kun thinks I'm his princess?!'_

The steam billowing out her ears was thick enough to be a smoke-screen.

 **(-)**

Sasuke was beyond infuriated. Each of the unusual kunoichi he had approached thus far have denied taking him in as a student. There were still two more for him to go after, but for the time being he needed to let off some steam.

He slammed a chidori into a massive boulder, taking a large chunk out of it in the process. Impressive as the attack was, it still paled in comparison to what Naruto was capable of. And that drove him mad.

Why was the dobe fortunate enough to be granted a powerful sensei who was able to turn him around from class clown to someone who was stronger than him? Naruto had never showed such potential back at the academy, yet now he stands leagues above Sasuke in terms of ability.

' _I need that kind of power. What must I do to grow stronger? How do I obtain a power that knows no equal?'_

He fired off another chidori, blowing another chunk out of the rock.

"I am the one deserving of power..." he said through heavy breaths. "I am the one fighting for a noble cause..."

" _You desire power? Find a better reason for wanting it."_

"What better reason is there than avenging the deaths of my entire clan?!" he growled upon remembering Miyabi's words from earlier.

The boy was getting nowhere. His stamina training would only get him so far, and he was in no mood to deal with the other kunoichi at the moment, so he decided to fall back on his actual sensei for help. Lazy as Kakashi may be, he was still the only one who actually taught him something remotely useful.

 **(-)**

Far away from the outskirts of Konoha were two shinobi dressed in identical outfits. A black coat with red clouds, the uniform marked them as members of the Akatsuki. They were both extremely dangerous missing-nin; Itachi Uchiha from Konohagakure, and Kisame Hoshigaki from Kirigakure.

The partners were currently taking a brief respite after their escape from Konoha. As short as their encounter with the enemy jonin was, if they had remained there any longer, then the entire village would come crashing down on them. So they needed to put as much distance between themselves and the village as possible.

"I don't really care about how or where you fight," Kisame spoke as he faced the Uchiha. "but the timing was wrong. Things could have gone south real quick."

The dark-haired man gave a non-committal grunt, not even bothering to face his comrade. "To have the opportunity to kill those two... It was as good a reason as any. We cull the herd and decrease their overall military strength. Two less senseis to teach the next generation."

Kisame smirked beneath the collar of his jacket. "A fair point, but at least we located the target before things got too hairy. Only problem is that he's being guarded by one of the Sannin. Not exactly a fight I want to be unprepared for. Jiraiya is no pushover."

Itachi hummed in thought. "Every man has a weakness. We just need to figure out how to exploit it."

"Perhaps we should send for the new guy?" suggested the swordsman. "He is supposed to be in this region somewhere."

The shorter man shook his head in the negative. "He has his own mission to complete. We have no reason to interfere with it."

Truth be told, Itachi was wary of the new recruit. He had seemingly popped up out of nowhere and was quickly brought into the fold. In fact, he had no idea what the man was capable of. There was no ninja in the bingo books that matched his description, and Pein had simply introduced him without asking for any show of his skill. And Itachi knew what that meant. The _real_ boss had met with him personally and was impressed enough to bring him in with no questions asked. Hopefully the dead-drop he left back in Konoha would be enough to warn Hiruzen.

It was somewhat comforting to know that the Third had survived his encounter with Orochimaru. At least that way he knew the plan would remain unchanged. And as brief as it had been, Itachi was glad he was able to see his brother again. Aside from his obvious bad mood, the boy looked to be in good health.

"So, we proceed as planned then?" asked the former Kiri-nin.

"The Kyuubi vessel is still our current goal. Regardless of the fact that he is guarded by one of the Sannin, he has finally left the village. This is our best shot at capturing him." Itachi responded as he pulled out a map to locate the village they were heading towards. "Try to limit collateral damage so as to minimize our presence, but anything that gets in our way is expendable."

 **(-)**

Naruto was trying to burn a hole through his pillows with his eyes alone. The ero-sennin had practically dragged him along for this 'important' mission, and what is the first thing he does when they arrive at the next town? Send him to their hotel room while he goes chasing tail!

The blonde was quickly growing bored of sitting by himself in the quiet room when there was so much excitement going on in the streets outside his window. Back in Konoha he would have been unable to visit such interesting shops without being chased off, but since he was in a new town that knew nothing about him, he decided to indulge his curiosity and have a little fun while his perverted sensei was off hitting on girls half his age.

All it took for him to escape was to open the window and apply chakra to his feet and walk down the wall. Once he was street level he was able to fully experience the upbeat atmosphere that the town provided. People would smile in his direction, apologize if they bumped into him, stall vendors even tried coaxing him over to buy something. It was a completely different treatment from what he received back in Konoha.

But even with that being the case Konoha was still his home, the place where everyone he held dear awaited his return. So he could never truly hate it completely. Still, this new experience was a breath of fresh air.

As he continued to walk the streets he eventually felt his stomach rumbling. Finally realizing it was past lunchtime and he hadn't been able to finish his ramen back at Ichiraku's, it was now a priority that he find somewhere to eat.

Moments later he internally cursed the fact that he left his wallet back in his bag at the hotel. He didn't want to walk all the way back for it, so he'd have to settle for whatever he could afford with what he had on him. But as luck would have it, his nose was suddenly drawn towards the delectable scent coming from one of the roadside vendors. It wasn't that impressive looking, only slightly larger in size compared to Ichiraku's, but the food looked good and there was an open seat he could take.

Ducking under the cloth flaps, he hopped on the empty stool next to two other customers.

"Heya!" the man behind the counter greeted with a bright smile. "What can I do ya' for?"

Naruto gave the man an equally toothy grin. "Got any good ramen?"

The man shrugged with a smirk. "Well I don't want to brag, but I'd say I got the best ramen in the city!"

"Alright!" Naruto cheered as he placed all the ryo he had on the table. "Give me the best that this can afford!"

The proprietor nodded as he scooped up the coins. "Coming right up!"

As Naruto patiently waited for his meal, he was momentarily distracted by the loud girl sitting next to him.

"Don't eat so fucking much you god damned pig!" she shouted to the girl sitting next to her. "If we don't have enough money for lodging tonight, then I'll shove a bullet so far up your ass that it'll fire out your mouth!"

Naruto was naturally taken aback by the vulgar girl who was screaming obscenities in public without a care in the world. Which clashed quite a bit with her cute looks. She had long brown-hair that was tied in pigtails, and short bangs that fell over her forehead. Her facial features were soft, despite the foul words spewing from her mouth. He also noticed that leaning on the counter next to her was a large wooden rod of some sort that had metal bits on it.

"Ahhh~! That sounds wonderful Ryoubi! How about we do it right here and now~? It'll only take me a moment to take off my panties~!" responded the girl she was verbally assaulting.

And that had thrown Naruto for an even bigger loop. The girl who was being yelled at seemed to be... weirdly enjoying the thorough tongue-lashing she was receiving. This girl had short, messy blonde-hair that only reached to her chin, and her face was tinted red with a heavy blush. Like the first girl, the blonde also had a strange object with her. A pair of what looked reminiscent of metal horseshoes were strapped to her waist.

"You cow-titted slut! Why don't you go sleep in the sty's with the rest of your kind?!"

"But the animals are no fun! They can't even whip me properly!"

"And what makes you think I know how to whip someone?! You know I prefer the rod and paddle! Has all that boob fat gone to your head?!"

"Ohhh! Please tell me you still have Mister Sparky! He makes my lady parts all tingly~!"

"Oh yeah? Well then maybe I'll shove him straight up your snatch!"

He REALLY didn't want to know the specifics of the girls conversation, let alone take part in it. So he wisely kept his mouth shut and waited for his food. It's like Miyabi said; don't go looking for trouble, because it's already looking for you.

"Kid, you are coming with us." came a cold voice from behind him.

Naruto turned to the source and was immediately struck with fear. Two men were standing just outside the stall, both wearing large black overcoats that were patterned with red clouds. The taller man looked like some kind of shark, but Naruto's gaze was locked on the shorter man. He sort of looked like an older version of Sasuke, with the black tomoe of the sharingan spinning in his red eyes.

Even though he had just barely survived a fight with Orochimaru, the two men in front of him were something else entirely. Every fiber of Naruto's body screamed at him to run, but he found himself unable to.

"Oi, what do you two fuckheads want?" the vulgar girl drawled as she looked over her shoulder.

Naruto wanted to warn her that the two men were incredibly dangerous, his instincts all but cemented that fact, but his mouth refused to open.

"You can go." the one who looked like Sasuke said to the girl.

"Oh, I can go huh?" she replied with a scowl. "Well you can go to Hell and take your goldfish fuckbuddy with you. I ain't finished eating." casually dismissing the two strangers, the girl returned to her meal.

It seemed that the man who resembled a shark took offense to her remark, and quickly drew the bandaged sword from his back and swung it at her. In his frozen state Naruto was unable to react to help the girl, but it turned out help wasn't needed. She quickly spun the strange pole across her lap and blocked the sword with it.

"Oooh, big mistake~." she said with a smile that showed off far too many teeth. Teeth that now looked razor sharp. "Time for some fun Ryouna!"

At her call, she swung the pole outward and pushed away the shark-man, while her companion leaped over her towards the Sasuke look-alike. She removed the two horseshoe shaped objects from her waist and swung them down, only to be blocked by a pair of kunai. Jumping backwards as he swiped his kunai at her, Ryouna joined the other girl.

"Ahh! Ryoubi, can I have him?! He looks like he can do some damage~!" the girl whined as she shook her hips. The suggestive nature of her movements and tone of voice, combined with the heavy blush on her face, was more than a little disturbing for Naruto to witness.

"Tch, like a give a flying fuck who you choose. Just make sure not to have too much fun. We got places to be after this." Ryoubi responded as she spun the rod around her hand like a baton.

The Sasuke look-alike stepped forward. "This has nothing to do with you. Simply leave and we will allow you to escape with your lives."

"Ehhh?" the vulgar girl drawled. "You wanna run that crap by me again? Because as it stands you assholes interrupted our meal, and then fish-face there tried to shave about a foot off my height." she then slung the pole over her shoulders and hung her arms over it. "So you'll have to forgive me if I find myself wanting to rip your dicks off and shove 'em up your asses."

The fish-looking man took a step forward with a violent smirk on his face, but the Sasuke person held his arm out to stop him.

"Last chance. Leave now."

Ryoubi spun the rod out and pointed the narrower end towards the two men. "Why don't ya choke on some lead~?"

With an almighty *BANG*, the end of the girls weapon flashed and suddenly it kicked backwards into her arms. Naruto didn't know why, but the Sasuke-looking guy had shoved fish-man to the side and then lunged out of the way from where the rod was pointing.

"The hell was that for Itachi?" the fish-man growled in annoyance.

There was a sound of metal shifting into place, and Ryoubi had the smoking end of the rod pointed at Kisame again.

"Dodge!" Itachi warned.

Following his partners advice, Kisame rolled away from his previous position, just barely avoiding the metal object that burrowed into the ground following another *BANG*.

"What the hell..." Kisame remarked as his gaze shot between the hole in the ground and the weapon in Ryoubi's hand.

"It's some kind of ranged weapon." answered Itachi. "Whenever she pulls the hook-bit at the other end, it spits out a metal projectile at incredible speed."

Ryoubi whistled. "Ding, ding, ding! Looks like we know who the smart one is!" she said before pointing the rod at the fish-man once more. "Ryouna, you take freaky eyes. Fish-face is mine~."

For a moment everything remained still. All other street-goers had long since fled the scene, and the only ones left were the two girls, the two strange men, and Naruto.

The blonde genin slowly inched backwards in an attempt to flee, but as he did so his arm knocked over a can of juice. The second it clattered to the ground, the four combatants exploded into action. Ryoubi and Kisame took to the rooftops while Ryouna and Itachi remained street-level.

Naruto was smart enough to know that even with his Shinobi Transformation he wouldn't stand a chance against either opponent, and would just get in the way if he tried to help. At times like these, he remembered Miyabi's advice.

The moment he saw an opening, he ran like hell.

' _Strategic retreat!'_

 **(-)**

Itachi idly noted that Naruto had fled the scene, and it would only be a matter of time before Jiraiya noticed the commotion and came to investigate. He needed to finish his fight quickly before that happened.

Finishing the handsigns for a basic fire-style jutsu, he blew a torrent of searing flames from his mouth that threatened to engulf Ryouna. But surprisingly, the girl dove straight into the blaze without a moments hesitation, only to emerge from the other end in a completely different outfit.

She was now wearing an extremely exposing ensemble that no kunoichi he could think of would be caught dead in. Whereas the blonde jinchuuriki was wearing a 'kill me orange' jumpsuit, the girl in front of him was now wearing a 'spill my blood white' dress. In a line of work where one must remain unnoticed in the shadows, she had somehow adorned the flashiest -most out of place- clothes possible. A elegantly detailed short-skirt that flared outwards, a top that left more skin exposed than not, a shiny silver tiara on her head, pure white angel wings tied to her back, and matching stockings and boots, all accented with gold trim... Itachi was almost certain he was under some form of genjutsu.

He was snapped back to attention when both of the strange metal objects she held began to spit out projectiles similar to the other girls weapon. Flipping through the air, he threw a handful of kunai towards the girl to halt her attack. Spinning on her heel, Ryouna batted the blades away and held a pose with her leg extended backwards. The appendage then snapped back down to join its partner, and the girl spun once more and pointed her weapons towards Itachi.

"Ahhh~! This is soooo much fun~!" she cheered with a heavy blush.

Itachi was mentally screaming how the sparkling, flowery image that radiated from the girl wasn't really there.

She then hugged her body and smushed her massive boobs together while sensually shaking her hips. "Come on~! That fire was nice and all, but couldn't you turn up the heat a little more~? It'll take more than that to get me fired up~!"

The way she moaned with every syllable was quite off-putting to the missing-nin. Especially since she was begging for him to hurt her. What was she playing at?

His musing was interrupted when Ryouna fired off another salvo of projectiles in his direction. If it weren't for his sharingan, he would be hard pressed to track the weapons trajectory in order to dodge in time.

Ryouna jumped high into the air and started firing down on him from above, trying to overwhelm him with a rain of metal. It wasn't until the bullets hit the ground that he realized she wasn't targeting him specifically. Each impact to the ground resulted in a small explosion of jagged ice.

"Beautiful Blue Gunslinger~!"

Soon the entire street was an ice-rink dotted with dangerously sharp ice shards. It once again was only by virtue of his sharingan that Itachi managed to dodge the barrage, but now the battlefield had been reshaped.

Ryouna landed on the ice with practiced skill and a flourish, looking particularly proud of herself. "Isn't it just wonderful~? I created a beautiful stage for our performance~!" she then pouted slightly. "Too bad there aren't any spectators. I was hoping for an audience to witness our dance~."

Eccentric couldn't even begin to describe Itachi's opinion of the girl across from him.

She then spun and faced her back to him before bending over, causing her skirt to rise up and expose her green panties with white spots. "I've been a bad girl~! Look at all the damage I caused on public property~! Do what's right and punish me~! Give me a good spanking~!" she demanded as she wiggled her ass.

For Itachi, he had quickly drawn the conclusion that the girl intentionally wanted him to do her harm. The first logical reason he could think of was that she utilized jutsus that took advantage of damage done to the user. Similar to what Hidan is capable of. That being said, he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of physical damage.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened again his sharingan had morphed into a different shape. It looked not unlike a kaleidoscope.

"Look into my eyes." he spoke softly as he gazed towards u.

Like a fool the girl did as instructed, and was suddenly frozen in place.

"Tsukuyomi..."

Ryouna's eyes went cloudy for a moment, her consciousness having been shut off as Itachi's genjutsu assaulted her mind. Even though it lasted only seconds in the real world, the missing-nin had subjected the blonde to what felt like days of mind-breaking torture. The same thing he had used to disable Kakashi earlier that day. And although it was straining for him to use it twice in such a short time frame, he could tell that Ryouna was not your average kunoichi. He needed her out of commission before Jiraiya showed up. Capturing Naruto was no longer an option. Now he needed to regroup with Kisame and retreat.

Closing his eyes again, Itachi released the genjutsu and his sharingan returned to normal. He was about to leave to find Kisame, but then _it_ happened.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!"_

He honestly had no idea what to think. Ryouna had somehow regained consciousness and cried out in ecstasy the likes of which had never been heard before. Men on the opposite side of the city were suddenly aroused from the erotic moan the girl had let loose, and even a certain notorious pervert briefly halted in his steps, suddenly torn between finding his godson or pulling out his notebook to record the moment.

Ryouna's knees were shaking wildly, threatening to give out and drop her to the ground. Glistening sweat formed a shimmering layer over her skin as she basked in the afterglow. Her head and back were arched, and drool was dripping down her chin. And lastly, a large stream of viscous fluid was dripping down her thighs.

Itachi was literally at a loss for words.

Seriously, what the fuck?

His foot moved slightly as he made to leave, but a bullet shot out and just barely missed his leg by a hairs breadth. The girl had grabbed his attention once more.

Her head still inclined, she was just barely able to glance at Itachi from the corner of her left eye when she fired off that last shot. As her head turned down, the look on her face was positively rapturous. "That. Was. Amazing~." she spoke sensually as she recovered her posture. "The best orgasm I ever had~."

Although it wasn't for the most logical of reasons, a part of Itachi found himself frightened of the girl who was his opponent.

Raising a finger from one of her guns triggers, Ryouna shook it disapprovingly. "Nuh uh~. You aren't getting away that easily~." her hands reached under her skirt and her thumbs found their way into the waistband of her panties. "It'd be rude of you to just fuck and run, just look at how much you soaked my panties~."

Slipping the garment down her legs and off her feet, she presented them to Itachi.

"See~?"

The Uchiha shinobi was mentally begging for some sort of distraction. A miracle to derail the train of madness he was currently stuck on. Anything to return the world to normal. And as if in answer to his prayers, a distraction came. Unfortunately it was in the form of his younger brother.

In the reflection of a pillar of ice he could see Sasuke standing several yards behind him, glaring murder at him with his two tomoe sharingan.

"Itachi..." the younger sibling growled out.

"Sasuke." the elder brother responded in acknowledgement. His tone neutral.

Sasuke was borderline hyperventilating. The very goal of his life, everything he has been training for, the one person he swore he would kill, was standing in front of him. The rage boiling within him had suddenly erupted into a raging blaze of hatred.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment..." he spat with venom. "For so long I wanted to see you again... To speak with you again..."

Itachi kept his expression impassive as he split his focus between Sasuke and Ryouna.

"I have lived my entire life for the sole purpose of killing you!" he roared as he ripped the bandages off his left arm, which was now coursing with electricity. "YOU WILL REGRET HAVING SPARED ME ON THAT NIGHT!"

Itachi's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise. _'Chidori?'_

The genin took a step forward to charge his brother with his attack.

*BANG*

A single shot rang out. Suddenly Sasuke's left leg was encased in ice, completely immobilizing him. The boy cursed as he tumbled to the ground.

Itachi's focus shot back to Ryouna, who was now pointing her weapon in Sasuke's direction. "Sorry little guy, but I called dibs on him first~."

Even though it only served to immobilize him, Itachi was still angered that Ryouna had attacked his brother. It was time for him to switch tactics. If Tsukuyomi wouldn't work, then he'd have to try something else. Perhaps Amaterasu...

Ryouna spun and fired off a barrage of bullets in all directions. But instead of just breaking apart upon colliding with the ice, they ricocheted off and turned the ice covered street into a veritable kill-room.

Itachi was hard-pressed to avoid getting hit. Simply dodging was no longer an option, now he had to deflect the bullets as well with a pair of kunai. There was never an opening long enough for him to perform the handsigns for a jutsu, and Ryouna just kept adding more bullets to the mix.

"Haaahh~! Isn't this dance just wonderful~?" she asked as she spun on her heels, causing her skirt to lift up and expose her jiggling butt.

Itachi clicked his tongue as Ryouna kept up the pressure. If he didn't do something soon, the girl would overwhelm him. So he decided to go on the offense. Charging the girl, he ignored the few bullets that grazed his skin in exchange for getting close enough to attack. The girls eyes widened in shock as he sliced his kunai across her chest. He felt as the blades met with resistance from her flesh, and was confidant that the blow he dealt would be enough to take her out of combat.

"Ohh~! Well aren't you rather forward~?"

So sure was he that his attack was successful, he neglected to expect Ryouna to recover. Even though he knew his blades had struck her, the only result from the slice was her top being cut, allowing her large breasts to bounce free from their already strained prison. Itachi had foolishly left himself open, and now came the counter.

Ryouna smacked him across the face with one of her weapons, an icy sting remained where he was struck. Her foot shot out and he barely managed to block it with his knee, but a thin coating of front had formed where it made contact. He snapped his head to the side a second before a bullet whizzed past his cheek. A sharp heel stabbed into his foot, causing him to stumble back even further. Again he felt the impact of Ryouna's weapon as it slammed into the side of his chest. The girl was relentless.

Despite how elegant her movements were, each one of them was no less dangerous. Ninja are trained from a young age to utilize the most effective forms of hand-to-hand combat. Not one movement is to be wasted, always be efficient as possible in your attacks, and don't leave any openings. Ryouna on the other hand was prioritizing flair over effectiveness. And it worked surprisingly well. You are trained since childhood to fight against opponents who know exactly what they are doing, but when you are suddenly faced with an opponent whose fighting style spits in the face of convention...

Itachi's left ear began to ring as Ryouna's weapon went off right next to it.

"Skaters Waltz~!"

Ryouna's foot slammed down and ice exploded outward from the point of impact. Itachi flung himself backwards to avoid the frozen shrapnel and quickly recovered.

*BANG*

A cold sensation began to spread throughout his lower abdomen. Glancing down, he spotted a patch of red that stained his coat. And in its center was a jagged piece of ice. A shaky hand slowly reached down to touch the frozen wound, only for it to crumble to pieces upon contact. He could feel the same coldness emanating from his back, but a quick grasp at the source revealed that it had not gone straight through him. The bullet was still lodged in his chest.

"Awww, I think I broke him..." Ryouna remarked with a sad pout.

The coldness was rapidly spreading through his blood and he could feel his strength being sapped away. He needed to flee NOW.

"Itachi!" came the voice of his partner.

Looking up, the Uchiha spotted Kisame making a quick descent towards him. Though the Kiri-nin wasn't in as bad a condition as himself, the right sleeve of his jacket was shredded and his arm was bleeding from several minor lacerations that had bits of metal in them.

Kisame landed next to Itachi and quickly threw his arm over his shoulder. "Time to get out of here!"

"Come back here!" roared an angry voice.

Seconds later Ryoubi landed on a nearby rooftop, dressed in a different outfit from when Itachi first saw her, and somehow having grown multiple bust sizes.

The girl aimed her weapon towards Kisame as she looked down its length with a sneer. Her teeth now resembled Kisame's own. "I wanna see what it looks like when a bitch dies!"

She pulled back the bolt on her rifle and ejected the current round into the air. Then with practiced ease pulled out the entire chamber and held it between her teeth before sliding in a new, larger chamber that had a straight-pull bolt. By the time she finished, the ejected round had finished its descent and landed in the open chamber.

"Double-Action Concerto!"

Pulling the trigger, a volley of hundreds of bullets almost simultaneously fired out from her rifle as the bolt rapidly kicked back and forth. It was a literal wall of bullets that was aimed directly at Kisame and Itachi.

A loud noise not unlike that of a chainsaw had shaken the street as the projectiles slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust. But much to Ryoubi's disappointment, by the time the air cleared, both of her targets were long gone.

"Tch, fucking pussy." she grumbled as she put her weapon back together, the straight-action bolt having fallen apart from the abuse it endured. "You'd think a fish would try to die like a man."

"Awww... I was just starting to have fun~!" Ryouna whined as she suggestively wiggled her body. "Ryoubi! You chased him away!" the girl accused as she sauntered over to the brunette.

Ryoubi rolled her eyes in annoyance and proceeded to spin her weapon around and smacked Ryouna on the ass with it. "I'll give you an A for at least trying to kill your opponent, but you get a Fuck You F for failing to get the job done."

Despite the animosity Ryoubi seemed to display towards Ryouna, the blonde looked like she was enjoying the abuse.

"Waahh~! Scold me some more~! I've been a bad girl and let the enemy get away~!"

Meanwhile Sasuke was finally able to free his leg from its cold prison and managed to stand up, albeit just barely. At the moment he was feeling extremely conflicted. He had finally found his brother, but his chance to kill him was snatched away by virtue of Ryouna not wanting him to interfere in their fight. What's more, the girl had managed to land a serious blow against the elder Uchiha. Had the battle continued any longer, Sasuke feared that his chance for vengeance would be forever lost if Ryouna had been able to kill him. But despite all this, the genin saw a silver lining.

Ryouna and Ryoubi were just like Miyabi. Even better, he was able to confirm they were strong enough to pressure his brother. Now he just needed to get them to teach him to be as strong as that.

His approach was suddenly halted when a white-haired man jumped in front of him as if to guard him from the two girls.

"What's going on here?!" he demanded as he looked over the carnage.

Seconds later the man was joined by Naruto, who looked surprised to see Sasuke.

Ryoubi turned a disinterested scowl towards Jiraiya. "We're making shaved ice- What the fuck does it look like we're doing?!" she responded sarcastically.

The man was about to take a step forward but Naruto stopped him. "Hold up ero-sennin! They ain't the bad guys!" he explained as he stood in front of him and held his arms out.

The man relaxed his body a let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, well that's good. But where are-"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

In Gai's defense, the way Naruto was positioned to stop Jiraiya did make him look a bit threatening.

So two nosebleeds (one from Gai kicking Jiraiya's face and another for when Jiraiya noticed Ryouna's state of dress), one apology, five smacks to Ryouna's rear, roughly half a dozen curses being yelled courtesy of Ryoubi, and one scolding directed at Sasuke later... things had finally calmed down to an acceptable level.

"Ehh? Itachi and Kisame? So that's what their names were." Ryoubi replied after Jiraiya gave the group a quick run-down of who the missing-nin were.

Jiraiya sweatdropped slightly. "You mean you didn't even know that your opponents were dangerous criminals?"

Ryoubi rolled her eyes. "The only opponents whose names are important enough for me to remember are the ones with enough notoriety to reach my ears."

"And you don't consider them notorious enough?" asked a confused Gai.

"Well since I ain't heard of them before now; no, I don't."

"Ryoubi prefers to remember how her victims scream rather than their names!" Ryouna chirped.

"Regardless, you have my thanks for protecting my disciple, even if it was unintentional." the Sannin said with a slight bow of the head. He then turned to glare at Naruto. "I told you to wait in our room for a reason. That woman who was flirting with me was under Itachi's genjutsu. He was trying to draw me away from you, so I played along with the intention to surprise them."

"Why didn't you tell me then?!" Naruto shouted indignantly. "Even Miyabi-nee-san is smart enough to give me a subtle signal with her hands!"

Jiraiya grumbled in annoyance, not wanting to be reminded of the white-haired woman whose penchant for violence towards him was equal to that of Tsunade's.

"Miyabi-nee-san?" parroted Ryouna.

"Hey kid, does this Miyabi girl have white-hair and yellow eyes? Acts more like a guy than a girl?" added Ryoubi.

The blonde genin's face brightened. "Yep! That's Miyabi-nee-san alright! She took me in a few months back and has been looking after me. Why? Do you know her?"

The two girls shot each other a smirk.

"Looks like we we hit the jackpot~." Ryoubi opined.

"Yay! Time to get the gang back together!"

Noticing the confused look on the other members of the group, Ryoubi decided to explain. "Miyabi is our squad-leader. We've been looking for her for some time now, as well as the other members of our team and our other friends."

Jiraiya palmed his face. "These other two teammates of yours wouldn't happen to be Imu and Murasaki, would they?"

Ryouna nodded vigorously. "Uh huh! Did you see them too?"

"Yeah, and I got the scars to prove it." the man grumbled in response.

"You mind telling us where they are then? We gotta regroup with them asap."

"They're back in Konoha, the village we all hail from." answered the Sannin. "If you need help getting there, you can follow Gai back." he said as he jabbed his thumb at the green-clad man.

Gai gave a toothy smile and a thumbs up. "You got that right! I've got to get Sasuke back to the village before something happens to him! I can't let any harm befall my eternal rivals student!"

"Then I suppose that settles things for the time being." Jiraiya surmised. "Me and Naruto will continue on our mission, and you four will head back to Konoha."

"Wait!" Sasuke shouted indignantly, having finally gotten a chance to speak. He then directed a hard gaze at the twins. "I want you two to train me to become stronger."

"Let me guess, it's because you want to kill that Itachi guy, right?" asked Ryoubi.

Even though he didn't give a verbal response, the determined look in his eyes was answer enough.

Ryoubi shrugged. "Sure. How much?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion. "How much what?"

Ryoubi absently began twirling one of her bullets between her fingers, not entirely invested in Sasuke's request. "How much do you plan on paying me?"

"What?" the genin asked in what he hoped was an intimidating voice.

"First rule of business kid." the girl said as she pointed the end of the bullet towards Sasuke. "What's in it for me? If you want my services, then you better be willing to pay up, because I sure as shit ain't gonna help you out of the kindness of my heart."

Ryouna was about to speak up, but Ryoubi pinched one of her nipples through her blouse and twisted it. HARD. The blonde moaned loudly in pleasure.

"And we aren't helping in exchange for physical abuse." she added before pulling her sisters tit forward.

"Wha- bu- I-." Sasuke, as well as the others, had know real idea of how to respond in the face of the twins interactions.

"Besides, I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here and say that mister freaky-eyes is your relative or something." the sadistic girl added with a scowl directed at Sasuke.

Through gritted teeth Sasuke managed to affirm the girls suspicions. "He's my brother. The man who killed our entire clan in a single night."

"Tch, another foolish jackass on some misguided quest for vengeance." Ryoubi remarked as she released her grip on Ryouna's teat. "Take it from me kid, this path you intend to walk..." for a moment, the vulgar girls voice went surprisingly soft. "it won't resolve anything. No reward awaits you at its end. So just give up before it's too late."

Sasuke was internally fuming at once again being denied. Even more so when he was told to give up on his desire for revenge. He slammed his palms on the table and leaned forward towards Ryoubi. "Listen you-!"

Before he could start his tirade, he found the barrel of a gun was shoved in his face, halting his movement. What was most surprising about it was that the person responsible for the deterrent was actually Ryouna. An uncharacteristic frown had formed from her lips.

"We urge you to stop. It is for your own good." her voice was no longer accented with a cutesy tone, but had become somber.

The Uchiha boy snarled in aggravation before storming off to brood.

Gai ran a hand through his hair. "Better go after him before he does something he'll regret." he then gestured for the two girls to follow him as he got up from the table. "Come on, we'll grab him then head for Konoha."

With the others gone, Naruto and Jiraiya were left on their own at the table.

"Hey ero-sennin, what do you think that was all about?"

Jiraiya merely hummed in response, briefly looking down at the slip of paper Gai had discreetly slipped him.

 **Kakashi in coma. Itachi resposible.**

The Sannin sighed. "Damn it..."

 **(-)**

"Fuck! What the hell happened back there?!" Kisame cursed as he pulled another piece of shrapnel out of his arm.

Both him and Itachi had to flee as far as possible after the mess they just survived. With the condition they both were in, they'd be hard-pressed to survive an encounter with Jiraiya should he chase after them. Now after having fled as fast as possible for an hour straight, they finally stopped to perform more extensive first-aid.

"Who were those two?" the former Kiri-nin wondered aloud as he wrapped bandages around his arm. He took a moment to glance at Samehada, which leaning against the tree next to him. There were numerous marks on the blade from when he was forced to use it as a shield.

Sitting against a rock across from the fish-man, Itachi was not looking too good. The hole in his stomach was still bleeding yet also radiated a cold chill that was sapping the Uchiha's strength. It felt as if the ice had worked its way into his blood stream and was freezing him from the inside out.

"W-we'll need t-to start a fire at t-this rate." he informed as he pulled his coat back on.

"Shit, at this rate we'll need to find a med-nin." opined Kisame.

Itachi weakly nodded in agreement. He was already exhausted from the use of Tsukuyomi twice in rapid succession, and his wound was exacerbating the problem.

"Well, well... What do we have here~?" came an overly sweet voice from the treeline.

Kisame quickly grabbed Samehada and pointed it in the voices direction. "Show yourself." he demanded. He just faintly discern the outline of three figures hidden in the shadows, the one in the lead no doubt doing the talking.

"Hmm, don't you think it's a bit rude to greet a lady like that? Especially when she is more then happy to help out a man who's on Death's doorstep?"

Kisame lowered his blade slightly as the trio stepped out of the shadows. "And just who are you?"

The woman grinned. "To some I'm a scientist, to others I'm a killer, but as luck would have it," she raised her arm, allowing her sleeve to slide down and reveal a scalpel. "for you I'm a doctor~."

 **(-)**

Shinobi Arts Index:

Double Action Concerto- Ryoubi removes the standard bullet chamber mechanism as well as the bolt slide from her rifle, and replaces it with a straight-pull bolt. While under normal circumstances her bolt-action rifle is capable of somewhat rapid fire, Double Action Concerto allows her to fire a literal wall of bullets numbering in the hundreds to completely annihilate her target. However this move has some backlash as the replaced parts will break from its use. As a result Ryoubi can only use this move once per transformation, and she must carefully reconfigure the gun back to its base model, which can leave her open should the target survive.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey everyone, still me here. I guess the new Senran Kagura game coming out was enough to get author-san off his ass again. I swear, the idiot gets excited over the most stupid things. Apparently he was extremely impressed by the new style of the games 'cut-scenes'. Because instead of just showing several characters in front of a solid background, now it shows the characters from different angles... though they still can't put more than four on screen at a time.

Baby steps guys.

Yet author-san can't help but fantasize about what it would be like if a Senran Kagura game was developed by a triple-A studio that actually put a lot of effort into it. Imagine what the cut-scenes would look like if the game was made by Square Enix.

Once again, leave a bad review and such for me to convey to author-san. By the way, he doesn't own any of this stuff."

 **(-)**

It was late at night and the majority of the non-essential personnel of the Nara clan had already turned in. Not very surprising given the male clan members inclination towards more calming activities. However there were two individuals who were wide awake at such a late hour, and neither were members of the clan despite residing in their compound.

"Nnggghhh~!"

Hikage let out a low groan as Katsuragi plunged her tongue deeper into the crevice between the verdette's slit. The blonde slid the tasting muscle up and down Hikage's insides as she rubbed the girls clit with her nose. Both of the stoic girls hands were occupied with keeping Katsuragi's face pressed against her pussy, while said girl had one arm wrapped around Hikage's thigh for support, and the other had reached down to her own crotch where she was fingering herself vigorously.

Katsuragi could feel Hikage's hips start to buck as she continued to eat her out, bringing her closer to her climax. The blonde stepped up her game and pulled her tongue out so she could suck on the other girls love button. The rogue shinobi clenched her teeth as her grip on Katsuragi's head tightened, though not to the point of causing much pain.

"S-something's happening...!"

The blonde teen returned to her tasty treat as she added a third finger to her own snatch in order to keep up with Hikage.

"Jsshh goh wff ih~!" the blonde responded, her voice muffled by Hikage's muff.

Sensing that Hikage was about to cum and nearing her own release, Katsuragi released her grip from the verdette's thigh and snuck her hand beneath the girls buttocks. Hikage had but a moment to wonder what her partner was up to before she felt and intrusion into her bum. Having a thumb stuck up her ass was all Hikage needed to be sent over the edge and give in to the peak of her pleasure.

"AHHH~!"

A cry of ecstasy and emotion the likes of which Hikage had never uttered before had erupted from her throat, and at the same time she could hear another muffled cry coming from her nether regions as Katsuragi's body shuddered in time with her own. Though the blonde had remained down below with her mouth firmly clamped over Hikage's pussy as she lapped up all of the girls release. The two girls collapsed moments later, their bodies exhausted and slick with sweat.

Katsuragi finally detached herself from Hikage's vagina like a tick that had filled up on blood, and gave a satisfactory smile to Hikage.

"That was some yummy cummy~."

After a few ragged breaths, Hikage managed a response. "I do not think 'cummy' is a word..."

Katsuragi snorted. "Well then I just made it up." she replied with a shrug as she gazed lecherously at her partner. "So, was it good for you~?"

Hikage pondered how to answer for a moment before she gave her response. "It was... warm..."

"Glad you enjoyed it!" the blonde chirped with a smile. She pulled herself up the bed to lay beside her sort-of rival and began groping one of her breasts. "You gonna be up for another round soon?"

"That would be ideal..."

As the two lay in silence, only the sound of their breathing to accompany them, Katsuragi just had to break the silence.

"Hey, you know how there are people who have a green-thumb?"

Hikage raised a brow, but decided to indulge her friend. "Yeah?"

"Well now I have a brown-thumb!" she exclaimed before laughing.

Somehow Hikage managed to look even more deadpan than usual. "Lame..."

 **(-)**

A pair of eyelids fluttered open to reveal the yellow pools with a black slit in the center. The verdette slowly lifted herself upwards as she lay with her elbows propped up against the bed. She was still in the same bedroom that her students mother had provided for and Katsuragi, though the lack of said blonde sleeping atop her stomach with her hands groping her breasts was enough to confirm she was alone.

' _That's right. Katsuragi left the other day to follow up that lead.'_

It had been three days since one of the villages more experienced jonin instructors had been hospitalized, as well as when the final two members of Miyabi's squad showed up. Though the squad was happy to be reunited, they had no real desire to have a celebration of the fact. The only real noteworthy bit was how Katsuragi had spent the majority of the time groping Ryouna, who was more than happy to be molested. However Katsuragi's fun had to end and she set out the next morning to track down the doctor who could potentially be their squadmate.

Yet now Hikage was having a dream about the blonde. She wasn't quite sure about the nature of the dream she just had, considering the blonde wasn't even present. Shifting slightly, she felt a dampness between her legs. Casting off her blanket, she noticed that her panties were soaked. Slipping the garment off, Hikage felt an odd sensation as she peeled them away from her crotch. It was... strange.

Bringing the damp cloth up to her face, she took a quick whiff of it.

' _Not urine. Female ejaculate.'_

It only took her a moment to figure out what had happened. As a result of Hikage's stoicism, she was unable to understand what pleasure feels like. From what she had learned the act of sex is extremely pleasurable, but being that most would prefer to perform such acts with the one they loved, they were occasionally left with self-pleasure, or, masturbation as their only option. It was something Hikage was familiar with. Being the stealthiest member of her squad, the others would often think her and everyone else asleep when they decide to, as Haruka once put it, 'get friendly with their hands'.

Though having never performed the act herself as she had been unable to see the purpose if she couldn't experience the pleasure, she was familiar with it and what it entailed. She recalled one of the times when she got up to use the bathroom, only to pass by Homura's room while the girl was masturbating while moaning Asuka's name. She was also unaware that Engetsuka's scabbard could be used in such a way.

But since she had been asleep when her strange dream occurred, that only left one logical conclusion.

"A wet dream..."

It was the first time she had ever had one, which left her confused. Even more so since the dream involved Katsuragi. But even if it wasn't real, the verdette had finally _felt_ something substantial... She didn't want that feeling to fade just yet.

Bending her legs at the knee and spreading them, she gazed down at her still damp genitalia. It was devoid of any pubic hair, as given her choice of outfits and low-leg panties, any green curls would easily be noticed. There was even the the occasional 'clit-slip' as Haruka had called it upon noticing such an event.

Using one hand to spread apart her lower lips, Hikage extended her index and middle fingers and began rubbing up and down along her labia. She could feel a small flicker of heat form in her core, almost unnoticeable to her. The flame needed more fuel, and she was eager to fan it. Slipping her fingers knuckle-deep into her snatch, she began pumping as the digits reached as deep as possible, trying to grasp at the source of heat. Her other hand began playing with her clit as she twisted and pulled it as far as she could. The fire was building and her body was reacting accordingly to it.

"Is this... pleasure?" she wondered aloud as she sped up her ministrations.

However being so absorbed in masturbating came with many risks.

Her door suddenly swung open and she looked up to see her student enter the room. His eyes were closed as he covered his mouth to yawn.

"Are you alright Hikage? I've been knocking... for... ages..." he trailed off at the end as his eyes opened and processed the scene in front of him.

The room was setup so that the bed was directly opposite the door, allowing its occupants the ability to quickly react to intruders. But as a result this meant that Shikamaru had a straight-on view of Hikage with her legs spread while she played with herself.

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL?!" he spluttered as he dove out the door and behind the wall. His face was a shade of red that would rival an Uzumaki's hair, and his mind was scrambled like it had never been before. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Hikage blinked a few times before resuming her actions. "I'm masturbating. You don't know what that is?"

Shikamaru was extremely tempted to bash his head against the wall. He knew Hikage was very stoic and blunt, but to not even feel embarrassed from such an incident?! And to respond like she was just talking about the days weather?! The lazy Nara had thought he finally found his ideal sensei. Someone who while not as lazy as him, still liked to take things slow and quiet. But of course he forgot of the dreaded Nara curse.

Any woman who a male Nara interacts with, no matter how smoothly things go at first, will always lead to trouble.

"O-of course I know what it is! I'm asking why you're doing it right now?!"

Not even slowing her fingers down, Hikage answered with all the bluntness she could muster. "I had a wet dream last night where I was having sex with Katsuragi. Since it was my first wet dream I wanted to experience the feeling again as soon as possible."

Had he been drinking something, Shikamaru would have done a spit-take. As sexy as the image of his impromptu sensei getting naughty with the perverted blonde girl was, her responses were still too much for him to handle.

"W-whatever! Mom says breakfast is ready!"

"Okay. I'll join you once I'm satisfied."

The genius genin had suddenly found himself performing the strange feat of choking on air as he stumbled and quickly ran away, forgetting to shut the door as he could hear Hikage's moans reach down the hall. Sending his shadow down the hall, he slammed the door shut and headed to the bathroom to take an ice-cold shower.

On his way he nearly knocked over his father, who asked him what had him all worked up.

"Women are scary!"

 **(-)**

He didn't know quite how long it had been since his eyes had closed and shut him out from the world. The pain was immense and the frozen chill that spread through his body had demanded that he sleep. It was a valiant fight he put up, but eventually his stamina had run out and he was forced to surrender to unconsciousness.

But he could finally feel his body start to move once more. Outside stimuli such as smell and touch had returned, and his strength had recovered enough for him to awaken. And upon opening his eyes once more, he was greeted by the sight of red. Not blood, nor fire, but shockingly red-hair. A bespectacled girl who appeared to be in her early teens was hovering over him and wiping his brow with a damp towel. Upon noticing his eyes had opened, the girl adopted a look of slight surprise.

"Oh, you're awake." she said as she sat back up and adjusted her glasses. "Haruka-sama, our friend has regained consciousness."

Slowly turning his head towards where the girl was facing, he saw a woman in a large, white lab coat who was working on something at a table across from them. Her back was facing them, but Itachi could see her light-brown hair that was rolled in at the sides and had a pink bow on top.

"Ah, right on time." Haruka remarked with a bit of pride. "It seems my estimate was right after all. Karin, be a dear and have Hibari whip something up for our guest to eat. And make sure it's something that won't upset his stomach."

The red-head nodded as she stood up. "Right away Haruka-sama!" the girl chirped.

Itachi managed to get a proper sense of his surroundings. He was in what looked to be a large tent of some sort that had a lantern hanging from the center support rod. The smell of antiseptic and other chemicals hung faintly in the air, along with a sweet odor that seemed to originate from Haruka. His body had been wrapped in warm blankets and he was lying on a soft bed. To his right he noticed a table with a metal tray on it, filled with various medical tools such as scalpels, bandages, and alcohol swabs.

"I can't quite decide whether your luck is amazing or abysmal." Haruka spoke up suddenly, still not facing him. "Judging from your wound, I'd say you had a run-in with Ryouna. That girl likes to imbue the majority of her attacks with ice, so it was rather unfortunate that the bullet didn't go all the way through. Since it was stuck in your abdomen, the ice effect persisted. But since I happened upon you and your friend, I was more than capable of fixing you up."

The Uchiha pulled off his blankets to see that he had been stripped down to his trousers, and his chest was now wrapped in bandages and feeling somewhat better.

"Still, to think that someone like Ryouna managed to do this much damage to you... Usually its _her_ that takes the most damage in a battle." Haruka chuckled. "Seems your reputation isn't as impressive as I thought, Itachi Uchiha~."

The missing-nin quickly grabbed a scalpel off the table and rushed Haruka. He was inches away from pressing the blade to her neck, but there was already one at his. A mechanical arm had shot out of the top of her coat and was now pressing a serrated blade to his own neck. He could faintly see a pair of glowing red-eyes hidden within her coat.

"Now, now, let's not be too hasty here~." she sweetly mocked as she slowly turned to face him. "I'm sure you don't want to be tearing open your stitches this soon."

Itachi's sharingan flared to life as the girl fully turned to face him. But rather than putting her under a genjutsu, the girl looked positively smug about the situation.

"Quite the nasty flaw that sharingan of yours has." she smirked as she looked at him. However the only thing Itachi could see was his own face gazing back.

Haruka was wearing a strange pair of goggles that completely reflected everything like a mirror.

"Not only does the target have to look you in the eyes, but you have to be able to look the target directly in the eyes as well. That's why you can't use it on someones reflection." she explained as she tapped the side of her goggles. "A similar design to a one-way mirror, completely blocking your ability to see my eyes. But even then, a well trained ninja wouldn't even need to do such a thing. Simply focusing your gaze on the opponents forehead would work equally as well. I'm actually surprised no one came up with such counters sooner. Then again, with only three known people to still posses the kekkei genkai, there is no real need to create a countermeasure."

Itachi frowned at Haruka's extensive knowledge about the sharingan's weaknesses.

"You didn't really think I'd take in an Uchiha like yourself without preparing myself first, did you~?"

"... What do you want?" Itachi asked, still not retracting his blade even with the one already at his throat.

"What do I want?" Haruka asked teasingly. "Well payment for services rendered is the first thing that comes to mind. But I suppose we can work that out later. Hibari-chan~!"

Briefly glancing his eyes towards where Haruka was waving, Itachi spotted a pink-haired girl enter the tent with a tray of food in her hands.

"Can you convince our friend here to settle down a bit?"

The girl smiled brightly. "Can do Haruka-chan!"

Itachi refocused his attention on Haruka as Hibari placed the tray down on a table. But his gaze shifted when the girl walked in front of him and stared him the eyes. Without goggles on, he would be able to affect her with his sharingan.

"Moouuu~, can you please calm down Itachi-san?" she asked in a cutesy tone while pressing her fists together.

Then Itachi noticed it. The flower pattern in the center of her eyes.

' _A kekkei genkai?!'_

Before he even finished his thought, the man found himself doing as instructed and dropped his improvised weapon.

"See? That wasn't too hard to do. Now why don't you go and sit down so we can discuss things like civilized people." Haruka instructed as she pointed towards the bed. "Besides, I'm sure you are feeling quite hungry right about now."

Itachi wanted to deny the claim, if only to spite the woman, but she was right. He didn't know exactly how long he had been out, but he hadn't had a proper meal since before his fight with Ryouna. Relaxing his posture, if only slightly, he complied and took a seat back on the bed. Hibari then brought over the tray which had several types of soft food such as oatmeal and soup.

Haruka then gestured for Hibari to go elsewhere, leaving Itachi alone with the unsettling woman.

"Go ahead and eat. I assure you it isn't poisoned. It wouldn't make sense for me to nurse you back to health just to kill you."

Still a bit hesitant, Itachi took a bite from the bowl of oatmeal, but his eyes never left Haruka. The girl was cunning, that much was apparent. And with him still recovering, he would be at a disadvantage should he try to escape through force. Her skills are unknown, current location unknown...

His eyes widened slightly as they shot across the room. Kisame wasn't present.

"If you are concerned for your friend, you need not worry. His condition was far less threatening than yours. Right now he's out trying to hunt something to eat." she then chuckled. "Quite the carnivore he is~."

Itachi remained silent, but nodded lightly in agreement.

"But since we are alone for the time being, how about a little chat?" she asked as she held out a hand to beckon him.

After a few moments passed with no response, Haruka shook her head with a wistful chuckle.

"Smart. Not wanting to give any information to a potential threat. Or perhaps you are just the quiet type. I'm banking on both." reaching into her coat, she produced a sheaf of papers. "Though I suppose that works fine for me. Gives me complete control over the conversation."

Snapping the papers into formation, she began to read aloud. "Itachi Uchiha: Son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, and elder brother of Sasuke Uchiha. A natural prodigy when it came to being a shinobi, began schooling at age 6 and graduated several months later at age 7. During a mission where your team was tasked with escorting the Fire Daimyou, you were attacked and it subsequently resulted in you awakening your sharingan. By age 10 you were finally approved to take part in the Chuunin Exams, where you passed flawlessly. At age 11 you were inducted into Anbu under the code-name Dog, and eventually reached the rank of captain by age 13. You were also the prime suspect in the death of your cousin Shisui Uchiha, but were never convicted due to a lack of evidence. Then on one fateful night, you single-handedly committed the Uchiha Massacre, killing every member of your clan save for your little brother. After that you vanished for some time before reemerging as a missing-nin."

Itachi had to give credit where credit was due. Haruka certainly did her research. Though she didn't know the whole truth.

As if reading his thoughts, Haruka smirked and tossed the papers into the air with little care. "Then again, that's the official report. And the only thing official reports are good at being used for is toilet paper." she crossed her legs and interlocked her fingers. "It's what's not recorded on paper that holds my interest. The kind of information that can only be passed by word of mouth."

The missing-nin narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I'm not sure if you are aware, but there has been a rumor spreading about an amazing doctor who takes patients in for free. The source of that rumor came from the doctor herself, me."

Itachi raised a brow. What was she getting at?

"You see even if the rumor is false, those who are desperate enough will still seek out any chance of hope. The majority of those people being the poor and the elderly. So while I do treat the majority of my patients without asking for any ryo -as I can earn plenty through bounties- what I ask for instead is knowledge. Bartenders, disgruntled office clerks, homeless people, each and every one of them is a prime target for that valuable resource known as information. And it is the secrets whispered in the shadows that interest me the most. A drunken ninja badmouthing his boss, an angry secretary screaming her head off about work, and the destitute who have their ears to the streets. They say that loose lips sink ships. And from what I can tell, some villages need to be scuttled."

"... What are you trying to get at?"

Haruka inclined her head in amusement. "It's not every day that I have such a notorious criminal under my care. The way I see it, you owe me quite a bit. Not only did I treat your wounds, but I kept quiet about your presence and didn't turn you in for a bounty. And since I can get ryo from just about any other patient, intelligence from an Akatsuki member is worth much more~."

His hand instinctively inched closer to one of the sharp tools on the table, but the red eyes in Haruka's coat served as a deterrent.

"I implore you to think over your next move carefully. Because even though I am skilled at saving lives, I have a far greater talent when it comes to ending them~."

"I... suppose we can work something out..." Itachi responded after a few moments of thought.

Haruka smirked. "Nice to see that we could come to an agreement. Then again, you already figured out you had no choice~."

She was right. Even if it was only for a moment, that Hibari girl was able to take complete control over him. If he didn't comply and at least offer something, then she would just force him to tell her everything he knows. And there were certain things he needed to stay secret.

Standing back up, Haruka made her way back to her work table, which was covered with tools, chemicals, and other lab equipment. "Although, if you were willing to go the extra mile for me, I would be willing to do the same for you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That illness of yours." she answered, surprising Itachi. "A rather vile affliction that is. If I had to make an estimated guess, I'd say it's a unique strain of tuberculosis. Highly resistant to normal treatment methods, and surprisingly good at disguising its symptoms. Then again, I can't be entirely sure unless I can get my hands on some better equipment to examine it."

"What does my illness have to do with anything?"

He already knew that the disease would eventually kill him, so there was no helping it. All he could do was delay the inevitable and keep quiet about his condition.

"Hmm, suppose I cure you, then you'd owe me for saving your life again."

Itachi scoffed. "Unlikely. I've already tried everything I could to stop it. The only thing I can do is slow its progress. It's impossible to cure."

Haruka chuckled in amusement. "Impossible... Oh how I love that word. To take such a certain declaration and smash it to pieces. The most rewarding challenges are always the most difficult ones." she then turned to face him again. "Regardless, I will still attempt to find a cure if only to satisfy my inner scientist. Whether or not you will accept the treatment is up to you."

Weighing his options, Itachi figured it wouldn't really hurt if he accepted Haruka's help to find a cure. She would most likely fail and nothing would change, but in the highly unlikely event that she succeeds, he would be given some extra time to ensure he accomplishes his goals.

The Uchiha gave a noncommittal grunt. "Do whatever you want."

Haruka chuckled. "Oh believe me, I will. But enough of that for now, how about we get down to business. You answer a few questions for me, and I'll let you and your friend go on your merry way once you recover enough to leave."

Itachi sighed. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"For starters; tell me about your little organization. And don't worry about getting in trouble with your partner for talking with me. I can always have Hibari wipe his memory."

Closing his eyes for a moment, the missing-nin tried to think of the best way to approach the subject. "We are a group of powerful missing-nin from various villages who are working towards a common goal. The current one being the capture of all the jinchuuriki."

Haruka snapped her fingers in recognition. "Ah yes, those individuals who were unfortunate enough to become the vessels for the Tailed Beasts. Quite the powerhouses they are. I can only wonder what a group of terrorists would want with such dangerous creatures~."

He didn't like how Haruka smirked, as if she already knew what they were up to.

"And what do you plan to do once you have all the Tailed Beasts in your possession? Open a zoo?"

Itachi was tempted to roll his eyes. "That is something I cannot tell you." he answered firmly.

Haruka shrugged. "No matter. Whatever it is can't be good. So the specifics are not important for the time being. Instead, why don't you tell me about your associates?"

"I can't do that. Doing so would compromise the identities of our members. All I can say is that the majority of them are in the bingo books. You'll have to figure out the rest on your own."

"Hmm... very well. On to my next question. I already know you encountered Ryouna and Ryoubi, but were there any others like them that you have met on your journeys? I'm sure you can tell that they are not your typical ninja, much like myself."

Itachi had to stop himself from deadpanning at the girl. "I would say they are a bit more than just atypical."

The brunette nodded. "True. But as it stands they are associates of mine, along with numerous others who are lost throughout these lands. We are all currently trying to regroup with our comrades, but we have no exact location to return to. What's more, we lack any form of communication between us, so we are essentially blindly stumbling about in our attempts to find one another. And since we can stand out quite a bit, I was hoping you could tell me if you met any others."

He tapped his chin a few times in thought as he went over the last few months in his head. "The only person I can think of would be our new recruit."

"New recruit?"

Itachi nodded. "Yes. I don't recognize him from anywhere in the bingo books, and I have no idea what he is capable of, but he has a rather unsettling feeling about him."

"What's his name?"

"Jindai Kimyoibu."

Haruka waved her hands dismissively. "Hmm, never heard of him."

Itachi shrugged.

"One last question for now though." Haruka spoke as she leaned forward with a smirk. "Were you really the culprit behind the Uchiha Massacre~?"

The rogue ninja frowned. Haruka was far too smart for her own good.

 **(-)**

The was a foreboding chill in the air, an ominous wind that seemed to encircle Hinata and slowly begin to suffocate her. Perhaps it was the lingering nervousness and fear from before she met Yumi, or perhaps it was her instincts trying to warn her. Glancing at the rest of her team who didn't seem to be affected by it, she eventually came to the conclusion that it was just her nerves getting the better of her. After all, this was their teams first mission outside the village since the attack.

Kurenai had decided that enough time had passed since the battle for her genin team to go out and get more work done, as well as earn more ryo to help the village recover. Still, the mission was a simple C-rank that was perfect for them as it would primarily be a tracking job. A small farming village had put in a request for help in exterminating a wild animal that has been slaughtering their livestock. According to the briefing, not even the towns own hunters were able to find the beasts lair or even get a good look at it to see what exactly it is. Their best guess was that it was a bear or a large tiger.

Hinata held her hand in front of her eyes as the sun momentarily blinded her. The ball of fire had begun its descent as they arrived at the village after their day-and-a-half long trip.

"Alright kiddo's, I'll go meet with the village elder who put in the request, while you go and find us some lodging. After that we'll see about getting an early dinner and putting together a plan of action." Kurenai explained as they walked down the street.

"Geez, seems a bit like overkill to send an entire team comprised of trackers just to hunt down one lousy bear." Kiba grumbled sarcastically as he slouched over and stuck his hands in his pockets.

Akamaru let out a bark of agreement from his spot on the teens head.

"They said it _might_ be a bear." Shino corrected as he let loose a few bugs to search the area for an inn. "No one has gotten a clear view of it, and there were no tell-tale tracks to identify it, so it could be something else."

"T-the briefing d-did say it c-could be a t-tiger." Hinata muttered quietly.

Kiba gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Well if the kitty wants to play, then me and Akamaru will chase it right up a tree!"

Again the dog let out a bark of agreement.

"Don't get too cocky Kiba." Kurenai scolded. "Until we have seen the animal for ourselves, we should still approach with some semblance of caution."

The boy scoffed. "It's a freakin' wild animal! It's not like it's an enemy jonin, this will be a piece of cake!"

Shino adjusted his glasses. "Yet none of the towns hunters could even find the thing. I believe that says something about it." he then glanced in the distance as one of his bugs returned. "I have found a place for us to stay the night."

Their sensei nodded. "Good. Head their now and I'll meet up with you in a while."

As they went their separate ways, Kiba continued to ramble on about how the hunters were incompetent and their team should be going on more important missions.

 **Later...**

The four ninja were sitting at a table in a modestly sized restaurant in the town as they waited for their dinner to arrive while they came up with a plan of attack.

"Alright, our employer says that this is a rather crafty beast. No matter what barriers they put up to protect their animals, it still manages to bypass them without leaving a trace of its presence. What's more, it only seems to show up under the cover of storm." the jonin explained as she pulled out a map of the surrounding forest. "The attacks have been randomly spaced apart, but the number of livestock being killed is steadily increasing. This suggests that it may be hunting extra food for cubs. And though it may be harsh to kill a family of wild animals just for trying to survive, they are still killing more than they should be."

Kurenai then pulled out a pen and drew a circle around the village on the map. "Given the fact that the animal is taking its kills with it, its den should probably be within this radius. It can only go so far before tiring out."

"At least we have an estimated area to search." opined Shino.

"Right." agreed Kurenai. "We'll use Shino's bugs to search the forest for any signs of the beasts presence, and then we'll switch to Kiba and Akamaru to track its scent if we can pick it up. Once we do that, Hinata will use her byakugan to keep an eye out for it. If everything goes as planned, we'll have this wrapped up tonight, get our payment, and be heading back to Konoha by tomorrow."

Kiba leaned back in his seat, nearly bumping into the person seated behind him. "This'll be too easy!" he boasted with a smirk.

"Kiba, watch yourself." scolded Kurenai. "You nearly hit the woman behind you. Now apologize."

Rolling his eyes, the teen turned in his seat to say sorry to the person behind him. "Sorry if I almost bumped into ya'." he said lazily before spinning back to face the table.

Kurenai was about to make him do it again and actually try to be genuine, but the woman seemed to have her own words to say.

"It is no trouble." she responded softly. "No harm was done, so there is no need for apologies."

Kiba snorted. "See? Nothing to worry about!"

"Oh there is plenty to worry about." the woman added as she looked over her shoulder at the team.

The woman looked to be in her mid to late teens, yet had long white-hair that was tied in a ponytail, though it was a more solid color compared to the likes of the elderly. Her skin on the other hand was practically the opposite, being a creamy mocha color. Strangely enough there was a crow perched on her shoulder that seemed to go unnoticed.

"You four are walking to your deaths." she spoke ominously.

Suddenly Hinata's uneasiness from earlier had returned.

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" drawled Kiba.

"It means exactly what it sounds like dipshit." remarked the girl sitting across from the white-haired girl.

This girl had a fair complexion by comparison to the first, and her hair was easily just as long, though it was a soft-orange color and was left untied, giving her a wild appearance. There were also two spots of white hair on top of her head that looked not unlike a pair of animal ears.

"You merry band of misfits are about to stumble ass-first into a situation that you can't handle." picking up her chopsticks, the girl twirled them around her finger as she sneered at Kiba. "And by the time you realize that you're out of your league," she snapped the sticks in half. "crunch~."

Kiba was about to leap out of his seat and tell off the girl, but Shino grabbed him by the shoulder. "I take it you are familiar with what we are hunting?" he asked the duo.

The white-haired girl nodded. "Yes. It is for that reason that we are here. Our job is to kill the beast."

"Oh yeah? Well we ain't letting you steal our kill or the bounty!" barked the Inuzuka boy, along with his dog.

The orangette scoffed. "We couldn't care less about the payment. Our profession requires us to kill it regardless of if we get payed or not. Though the extra ryo is a nice bonus~." she said with a smirk. "So take it from us, if you go after this thing, you will die."

"That is not something for you to decide." responded Kurenai. While not wanting to escalate things, it did irk her that the two girls were mocking their capability. "Bear, tiger, wolf, or whatever, we will be successful in our hunt tonight."

"That will only ensure your deaths." remarked the quieter girl. "Night is the worst time to fight it."

"On the contrary, since it will be late at night the beast should be tired or asleep, allowing for us to get the jump on it." countered Kurenai.

The wild-looking girl did a mock prayer in their direction. "My the God's have mercy on these poor fools and grant them a swift death. We'll be sure to bury the bodies tomorrow evening after we finish the job."

"Why you-!" Kiba snarled as he shook off Shino's arm and stomped to his feet.

"Kiba!" yelled Kurenai, causing the boy to falter.

The two girls left payment for their food as they got up to leave. But the white-haired one turned to them one last time. "I implore you to reconsider your decision, if only for your own health. But if you won't, then I will not put your deaths on my conscience."

After the two left, Kiba continued to fume in silent rage for another half-hour.

 **Later...**

"W-what d-d-do you t-think they m-meant when they s-said we c-couldn't handle this?" a nervous Hinata asked Kurenai as the group followed Kiba and Akamaru through the forest.

"They meant bullshit." remarked Kiba before Kurenai could answer. "Just trying to scare us off so they could do the job and get the payment."

Kurenai shook her head at the boys remark. "While that might be true, only they know the exact reason."

"I h-hope n-n-nothing bad h-happens." stuttered the heiress as they continued through the darkness.

Suddenly Kiba and Akamaru stopped. "Wait! We got something!" the boy exclaimed before he and the dog took off. "I don't know what it is, but it's scent stands out like crazy!"

Quickly catching up to the boy, the three ninja stayed close behind him as he led them deeper into the woods.

"Hinata, time to use your byakugan." instructed Kurenai.

"Yes sensei!" the girl nodded as she activated her kekkei genkai. Gazing about the forest, she searched for anything that might be their target as they followed Kiba.

For Hinata, when using the byakugan people and animals are noticeable due to the glow that emits from their body. But what Hinata saw turned her blood to ice.

"Ahhhh!" she shrieked as she quickly deactivated her Byakugan.

Her outburst was enough to stop the group to check on her. "What happened Hinata?!" asked a concerned Kurenai.

"I-I-It... I... j-just... black..."

Yet when the girl spotted the beast, its body was pitch black...

An ungodly roar could be heard from deeper in the forest.

"It knows we're here." Shino remarked as he prepared himself for a fight.

"Way to go Hinata!" growled Kiba sarcastically. "Now the damn thing is coming for us!"

"Quiet Kiba!" scolded Kurenai. "Something obviously spooked her. Now ready yourself, it's coming!"

Taking up defensive positions, the team hoped to use the clustered trees to their advantage in order to hinder the animals movements.

If only things were that simple...

The sky began to darken with clouds as the trundling noise of the beast grew closer. A drop of water landed on Akamaru's nose, causing him to yip in alarm. Moments later the light of the moon was blocked out by the clouds and the steady rain soon followed.

 _Primarily residing in the clouds, they were once thought to be a bird, and always brought dark clouds wherever they went._

"Where the hell did this rain come from?!" barked Kiba as he was slowly getting soaked.

 _Thus their name was written with the kanji that meant 'night' and 'bird'._

"My bugs will be of no use at this rate." remarked Shino as the rain became heavier.

 _While sightings of them have been rare throughout history, they are still considered to be evil monsters. Any time humans have crossed paths with them, the results have been disastrous._

"What's going on?" Kurenai wondered aloud. Perhaps the girls warnings weren't unfounded after all.

 _Considered to be the chimera of Japan, they have the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the limbs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail._

It wouldn't be much longer before it came into view. And as it grew closer, the four ninja could feel their strength quickly fade.

 _The dreaded beast of the storm._

The treeline exploded outward as a monster the size of a truck let out an ear-piercing roar to announce its arrival as lightning danced around its body.

 _The Nue..._

 **(-)**

"By the way, author-teme wants me to let you know that the two girls are actual Senran Kagura characters, and the Nue is an actual Japanese mythological beast. If you need an idea of what it looks like, look up the Nue boss from Nioh."


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey, author-teme got off his ass again and finished another chapter. Probably firing on all gears in his excitement from waiting for Sekiro to come out.

Friggin otaku...

Anyways, he decided to take some risks in this chapter, trying to setup background stuff for the next major plot-point. That being the confrontation between the three Sannin. He says he's doing his best, but that doesn't mean jack for me. It's up for you guys to determine whether it's good or not.

Oh, and don't forget that you can submit an omake for him to add to a chapter. I'll make sure he doesn't take credit for it.

With that all said, enjoy this half-assed chapter!"

 **(-)**

 _For the longest time it was assumed that there was a clear divide between the Eiyunin, the good shinobi, and the Akunin, the evil shinobi. That the two sides were forever at each others throats in a clash of morals and ideals. It was common belief that the Akunin wanted nothing more than to spread chaos and rule over the people from the shadows, and that the Eiyunin were tasked with stopping that from happening._

 _That is complete garbage._

 _The idea of the world being white and black, good and evil, right and wrong... It is nothing more than a foolish concept that the ignorant masses turn to in order to validate their beliefs. 'They are in the right and you are in the wrong'._

 _The Eiyunin and the Akunin are two sides of the same coin. No, even that is inaccurate. They are akin to shogi pieces. Lacking in a single distinguishing color to identify them with, yet still organized into their own faction. Many believe they are simply mercenaries for hire that would do anything for a paycheck, so long as it aligned with their morals, but it is far more complicated than that._

 _For though this may partially be true, the purpose of both types of shinobi have forever been the same. At the heart of both factions they share the same goal; protect the world from the Yoma._

 _Demons, monsters, yokai, abominations, call them what you will, Yoma are the true evil in the world. While there are different types of friendly mythical creatures, the Yoma are almost exclusively malicious towards humanity. These are the true enemies that the shinobi fight. The only difference is how they are willing to go about it. The Eiyunin try to save as many as they can, while the Akunin do whatever it takes. Very little separates the two sides; each and every shinobi has a reason to fight, a family to protect, a goal to reach, and a world to keep safe. So while they do butt heads from time-to-time, their final goal remains the same; the elimination of Yoma._

 _That is the purpose for which they fight._

 **(-)**

It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. There were plenty of intimidating looking summons out there, but the beast standing across from her was like something straight out of a horror story. The kind you would tell your children about if they were misbehaving, warning them that the boogeyman would come and take them away. Oh, how Hinata wished it was the boogeyman instead.

The monster that had exploded out of the forest was easily 7 feet tall and triple that in length. It's body was an abhorrent amalgamation of different animals, and lightning constantly arced across its body without causing it harm. The rain had gone from steady to a torrential downpour, and lightning would intermittently crack the sky and echo a thunderous roar throughout the area.

Akamaru had quickly retreated back into Kiba's hood and shut himself away from the world. The dogs owner was faring no better, as his usual cock-sure attitude had completely disappeared and was replaced with absolute terror. He couldn't even ball his hands into fists to act tough, his entire body was trembling, and his eyes had dilated as he gazed at the monster.

Shino was no better off than the Inuzuka boy. Though the quiet Aburame genin had the majority of his face and body hidden, Hinata could hear faint chittering and screeching coming from the bugs in his jacket.

Finally throwing a glance towards Kurenai, Hinata could only hope that their sensei was composed enough to come up with a plan of attack. Though the heiress seriously hoped it was a plan to retreat.

The genjutsu mistress had to force her breathing to slow, and focus her eyes after they had been strained by the beasts alarming entrance. Speaking of said beast, it was lowering its head down having finished its roar. She would have said it then focused its gaze on them, but that would be inaccurate, as its pupils would constantly dart from one side of its eyes to another. Its mouth hung open, showing off numerous fangs that might as well have been kunai.

Mentally slapping herself, Kurenai knew she had to act now, before the beast took initiative. But her decision came a moment too late. Being that he was at the front of the group, the monster lunged at Kiba first with its claws extended.

"MOVE!"

It wasn't a necessary warning, as anyone with a brain cell would do their best to avoid the beast, yet Kurenai shouted it anyway. Little good it did however, as Kiba was frozen in place, and the beast slammed its paw into his side.

"GAH!" the teen let out a strained cough as hundreds of pounds of force struck him on his flank, claws raking across his flesh, and sent him flying across the clearing and into a nearby tree.

"KIBA!" Kurenai screamed in alarm as she watched her student lifelessly slam against the hard surface. Akamaru was sent tumbling out of the boys hood, but quickly recovered and ran over to his master.

Seeing that he was still breathing for the moment, the jonin instructor snapped her gaze back towards the monster, who was now going after Shino. But he too wasn't moving to avoid the attack.

Kurenai tried to take a step forward to rush and push Shino out of the way, but the air was inexplicably heavy, and it felt as if she was walking in syrup. She would not make it to him in time.

Letting out a roar, the beast swiped at Shino, only to strike empty air as the boy was tackled out of the way.

Hinata had activated her transformation and threw her teammate out of the way before he could be struck down by the beast. However this had the added effect of drawing its attention to her. Despite its crazy-eyes, there was still a noticeable intelligence in them. Releasing a low growl, the monster suddenly charged at the heiress with lightning dancing around it.

Try as she might, Kurenai found it exceedingly difficult to move, and just walking took more effort than it should have. She needed to get in the fight.

Rolling to the side, Hinata quickly stood up and slashed at the beasts flank with a blade of electricity. She might as well have just tickled it. It snapped its gaze towards the girl as she quickly backed away from its claw range. But she neglected to take into account its tail. The tip of the appendage was a sentient snake, and the reptile had shot forward and clamped its jaw around one of her ankles.

"AHHH!" Hinata cried as she felt the pain of the fangs trying to pierce her skin, when the tail jerked upwards and lifted her off the ground. The girl was swung through the air like a rag doll, the force from the swings threatening to dislocate her ankle.

Finally Kurenai managed to gain traction, and sliced at the reptilian appendage with her kunai. It was only a nick, but it was enough to cause the snake to release its grasp.

As Hinata hit the ground she tucked into a roll and quickly recovered, preparing herself for another clash with the monster. However she noticed something was wrong. Her pants were already destroyed despite how little damage she had taken, exposing her light-blue panties, and the snake bite on her ankle remained. She could already feel the wooziness from the poison set in.

"K-Kurenai-sensei!" she shouted as the beast began to pace back and forth across from the jonin. If her fear of the beast weren't so great, she would have been trying to cover up her nudity.

"Hinata! I need you to get Shino and Kiba out of here!" she instructed as she pulled out several bomb-tags that were attached to kunai. "I don't know why, but it's incredibly difficult for me to move right now! The two of them must be struggling even more!"

"B-but I don't feel anything!" the girl responded as she pulled out an antivenom pill. Even if it isn't a perfect counter for whatever poison the snake injected her with, it was a wide spectrum antidote that would slow it down somewhat.

"Which I don't understand." the woman responded as the monster charged her. She jumped over it and threw her kunai at its back while she was in its blindspot. At least, it would have been a blindspot if not for the snake-tail, which batted away the kunai before they could land. Explosions erupted throughout the clearing as the tags went off, kicking up chunks of debris and mud.

Quickly going through the required handsigns, Kurenai activated a genjutsu just as the beast turned to face her again.

"Magen: Hanagasumi!"

If her genjutsu was successful, the beast would believe it was engulfed in a large exploding flower, which would hopefully disorient it long enough for her to move in for the kill while her students escaped.

However fortune was not on her side. The beast shook its head for a moment as if trying to remove an unwanted passenger, before turning its gaze back to her. Its head then reared back as even more lightning jumped across its body, and it let out an ear piercing roar towards the heavens.

Every fiber of her body was screaming at Kurenai that something bad was about to happen. Moments later she was proven correct.

Lightning began to rain down on the area as if it were rain, striking and toppling over trees, carving gashes into the earth, and lighting up the night with violent flashes followed by a deafening roar. The group was forced to cover their ears to prevent the noise of the thunder from bursting their eardrums, which unfortunately left them open to attack.

The beast shifted its attention back to Hinata and leaped at her from across the clearing.

Managing to regain focus at just the last second, Hinata slid under the monsters claws and struck at its belly with her juken. However her attack only managed to piss the beast off even more. The snake snapped at Hinata once more with its poisoned fangs, while the beast attempted to crush the heiress underfoot. She batted away the snakes head with a lightning charged juken before flipping backwards and away from the creatures stomp.

Preoccupied with Hinata, and with its snake-tail disoriented, it failed to notice Kurenai come up from behind and jump on to its back. The beast let out a growl of surprise as it tried to arch its head back to look at Kurenai, only to be rewarded with a kunai to its left eye.

"DIE!" the jonin shouted as she drove the blade in as deep as she could.

Releasing a howl of pain, the beasts fur bristled before discharging a powerful burst of lightning. Kurenai cried in agony as her body was assaulted by the voltaic energy.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata shouted in concern as her instructor spasmed on the creatures back. Her momentary lapse of focus was rewarded with a paw strike from the beast that sent her tumbling away and crashing into a tree. Even with how few attacks she received from the monster, her clothes had already reached their damage threshold and she was rendered naked. Slightly dazed from being knocked against a tree, she failed to realize her lack of attire and turned her gaze back towards Kurenai and the beast.

Blood dripped down its face from the eye wound courtesy of Kurenai, while its good eye burned with rage. Still stunned from the shock to her nervous system, Kurenai was helpless to stop the snake from biting her arm and throwing her up into the air. Poison immediately invaded her bloodstream which made her woozy and unable to regain her equilibrium. She plummeted back to the ground where she slammed down with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Lying on her back, the kunoichi tried to push herself up with her elbows, but was halted when the beast crushed her left leg with its paw.

Kurenai could only release a silent scream as her leg was all but shattered under the weight of the fearsome monster looming over her.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata shouted once more as she staggered to her feet. She needed to get back into the fight immediately!

With the abomination of nature bearing over her with a maw of fangs dripping with saliva and crackling with lightning, Kurenai couldn't remember the last time she felt so afraid. Even her encounter with Itachi paled in comparison to her current situation.

The beast seemed to sense her fear and almost managed to form a sneer in response. With the woman still pinned down by its paw, the beast snapped its head forward and bit down on Kurenai's arm.

A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the forest, but was smothered out by the booming thunder.

Hinata could only watch in horror as her sensei writhed in pain while the beast thrashed its head and tore into Kurenai's limb. The heiress was frozen in fear. This was just supposed to be a simple tracking mission, but somehow it turned into _this._ Fighting a monster straight out of a nightmare.

Kiba was unconscious and bleeding out, Shino was unharmed but immobile, her sensei was dying right in front of her, and she was naked and without a plan. If Kurenai didn't stand a chance against the beast, then what were her odds of survival? She wanted to block it all out. The pain, the storm, the screams, the feeling of weakness, it was all just too much.

She had tried so hard to get stronger, to finally be acknowledged. But in the face of such a terrible beast, everything she had worked for was washed away. No longer was she the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. No longer was she one of the Chuunin Exam finalists. No longer was she the ninja who defeated her cousin, Neji. No longer was she the student of both Yumi and Kurenai.

No longer was she the 'stalker' turned girlfriend of Naruto Uzumaki...

Kurenai's wails became weaker as she ran out of breath and stamina. The beast had been content in taking its time with her as revenge for its eye, but it was ready to finish it. Rearing its head back while still holding Kurenai's limb in its mouth, it reveled in the sound of her flesh tearing and bones snapping. With one last snap of the head, the beast ripped Kurenai's arm off just below the shoulder.

Left with just a gnarly stump that was bleeding profusely, the genjutsu-mistress could only wheeze as she awaited the inevitable. She realized it as soon as the beast crushed her leg; she wasn't going to be leaving this forest alive. Tears streamed down her face as her thoughts drifted towards her lover, the wonderful man she would never see again.

The beast raised its paw once more...

"Goodbye..."

It brought the clawed limb down on her...

"STOP!"

A spear of condensed blue-lightning collided with the beasts face and caused its strike to miss.

Snarling in annoyance, the beast snapped its head towards the person who interrupted it. Hinata stood across from it with a sword of lightning in her hand, glaring fiercely at the beast with her byakugan active. It would have made for an impressive sight if she had even a scrap of clothing on.

" _Do you really think yourself so weak?"_

Hinata hardened her resolve as she remembered those encouraging words.

" _Tell me; can the you from a minute ago beat the you right now?"_

The sword in her hands began to crackle as even more energy was pumped into it.

" _If you give up before you even try, than you've already lost that battle."_

She took a stance as the beast prepared to charge. "If I give up now, then I will never be able to face Naruto again! He wouldn't let his friends die here, so I won't either!"

The beast howled in anger.

"To surpass the me from the past; that,"

It charged.

"IS MY NINJA WAY!"

Having lost all of her ninja garb, Hinata's defense was gone, but her offense was boosted as a result. She dashed forward to meet it.

"Saigonoichigeki: IKAZUCHI NO TSURUGI!"

Performing an iai slash, Hinata rushed past the beast as it charged past her. The sound of thunder erupted as she drew the blade from its 'sheath' and a large bolt of lightning swiped across the area like a beam, cutting down trees in one fell swoop. For a moment, the powerful shock-wave from the strike had caused the rain to stop, and a moment of silence passed as both Hinata and the beast remained still.

The rain finally began to fall again, and the beasts remaining eye rolled back in its head as it fell over.

Hinata let out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding once the monster hit the ground. The adrenaline rush was petering out, and she quickly returned to her priorities. Dashing over to Kurenai, she observed that the woman was barely holding on to consciousness.

"D-don't worry Kurenai-sensei, e-everything will be fine!" Hinata promised as she tore off part of Kurenai's outfit to make a tourniquet.

"H-Hinata...?"

"It's alright! T-that t-thing is dead!"

Kurenai's head lulled to the side to face Hinata, and her eyes widened in alarm.

"Behind!"

The heiress turned to see the beast had gotten back up and was staggering towards them.

"I-It's still alive?!"

It let out a low growl as it glared banefully at the girl who had wounded it so. But before it could act further, a raven swooped in and ripped the kunai from its eye, eliciting a howl of agony as the ball was taken with it. The beast tried to keep the bird in sight with its remaining eye, but that cost it dearly.

"Time for a little amputation!"

The brusque woman from the restaurant earlier, leaped up and cut off the monsters tail with a katana. Pretty standard as weapons go, but it was the fact that she was holding the blade with a fox tail that stood out. In fact, she had nine fox tails emerging from her back, each one holding a different weapon.

Spinning around to face its attacker, the beast was rendered completely blind when another katana was thrown into its remaining eye. The owner of said katana showed up seconds later, landing a kick to the monsters face as she stabbed another katana in the empty eye socket. Pulling the blades upwards, she sliced off a chunk of the monsters face, but it still managed to stay alive. Thrashing about and firing lightning in all directions, it was as good as dead. They just needed to deliver the finishing blow.

"Let's see how you like this!" the dark-skinned woman shouted as she stabbed one sword through the beasts paw and pinned it to the ground. She then stabbed the other through the base of its neck and swung the blade over her shoulder, slicing its head and neck down the middle.

As the abhorrent creature finally died, its body began to turn into black smoke and fade away. The orangette then gazed about the forest and took note of the damage and casualties. "What a fucking mess..."

However, going unnoticed by all present, a floating eye the size of a baseball remained in the shadows after having watched the events unfold.

Meanwhile miles away, a individual dressed in a black coat with red clouds was leaning against a tree as the small slip of paper in their hand displayed what the eye was seeing. Satisfied with what they observed, they tore the paper in half, causing it to crumble to dust and the eye to fade with it.

 **(-)**

With the aid of the two girls, whose names were Yuuyaki and Kumi, Hinata and Shino managed to carry Kurenai and Kiba back to the town for immediate medical care. Kiba had been sewn up and given a blood transfusion to make up for what he lost, but Kurenai was still in serious condition. Her left leg was shattered and she lost the majority of her left arm, not to mention the poison and blunt force trauma, and the burns from being electrocuted. The doctors said her odds of survival were very slim. And even if she did pull through, her career as a ninja was over.

It wasn't until everything had calmed down that Hinata realized she was walking around town in her birthday suit, and promptly ran back to their hotel to get a change of clothes while Shino remained with the others. She would make sure to avoid returning to this village anytime soon.

"Congrats kiddie." Kumi said to Hinata as she crossed her legs. "It's rare for a total novice to survive their first encounter with a yoma, especially a Class-A yoma like the Nue."

Hinata was pressing her fingers together and hiding her heavily blushing face as she, Shino, Yuuyaki, and Kumi sat down to discuss things. "Err, t-thanks? But w-what does that all m-mean?"

"Hahh?" Kumi drawled out in confusion. "Ya' mean you've never heard of yoma before?"

Seeing the girl shake her head in the negative, Kumi let out a heavy sigh. "Yer' even luckier than I thought."

Having given her two cents on the matter, Kumi passed the conversation over to Yuuyaki.

"Yoma is the collective term used to identify all demons, monsters, and spirits that hold hostilities towards humans. Born from Darkness, most prefer to hide beyond the Spirit Veil and only attack when they have the opportunity, which allows them to remain unknown to the masses. However..."

The white-haired woman looked off to the side for a moment before continuing.

"The stronger and smarter ones can remain on our side for as long as they wish, such as the Nue you fought earlier."

Hinata began to tremble at the thought of there being even more of those _things_ out there, and even Shino was quieter than usual.

Either not taking note of their fear, or choosing to ignore it, Yuuyaki continued. "It is the duty of shinobi like ourselves to hunt and kill yoma, keeping them hidden from society."

"This has never come up before at the academy." Shino pointed out quietly.

"That's because they teach mainstream shinobi, not _real_ shinobi like us." Kumi replied.

Her amicable friend nodded in agreement. "We have been taught by specialists, trained for the purpose of killing these monsters." her gaze then landed on Hinata. "And seeing as how they've only been popping up recently, I'm guessing your sensei didn't teach you about them."

The heiress nodded meekly. "Yumi n-never mentioned them..."

Kumi huffed. "Well I guess it's time for an update. Things ain't as peachy around here as they used to be. The damn thing's starting to rot."

"C-can you t-tell us some m-more about them?"

Yuuyaki inclined her head in affirmation. "I'm sure you noticed that your friends ability to move was severely limited when in the yoma's presence. This is because all yoma carry a spiritual taint that weakens those around them. The stronger the yoma, the greater the effect. There have even been reports of civilians dropping dead just by being within their AOE. In fact, the purpose of the Shinobi Transformation is to combat this. While clad in your combat uniform the effect of the taint is suppressed, however those with a strong enough will can also resist it to a degree. And you probably are also aware of how your uniform was nearly useless to protect you from damage. That is because yoma can ignore most of its physical defense."

"Against our fellow man, the armor is a boon, but when combating yoma, it is what allows us to fight them in the first place."

 **(-)**

Making her way down the dirt road to the next town, Katsuragi's gaze was directed upwards as she squinted at a cloud that vaguely resembled boobs.

A lecherous smirk formed and a bit drool dripped from her mouth.

"Guh hee~. I'd motorboat the hell out of those~."

It had only been a few days since she departed from Konoha, and the blonde was already starting to suffer from oppai-withdrawal. All she could do for now was fantasize. Being that the group determined that the free doctor with the kind assistant could be Haruka and Hibari, Katsuragi couldn't wait to get her hands on them. Without Yagyu around to stop her, Katsuragi would finally be able to enjoy Hibari's knockers without interruption. And Haruka was always an enjoyable obstacle to overcome. The number of times that the blonde had successfully groped the puppeteer could be counted on one hand, but that just made the challenge all the more enticing.

The three farmers who were walking in the opposite direction didn't know what to think when they saw the expression on her face. Not that the busty shinobi cared what they thought of her. She was an unrepentant pervert through and through.

So as she passed them by, she quickly threw her rucksack to the side and unsealed Dragon Rebellion. Spinning on her heel, she knocked aside the tanto blade that was aimed at her spine.

The farmer who attempted to stab her widened his eyes in surprise upon seeing her smirk. And before the other two could react, the bottom of Katsuragi's boots flipped open to reveal spinning gears and blades. Pulling off a maneuver that shouldn't have been possible, the blonde managed to bring her other leg around without lowering the first and launched a blade of condensed wind from her heel.

As the three 'farmers' backed away, Katsuragi landed back on her feet with a playful hop. She then shot a haughty look towards the trio.

"That was one of my best pervy faces. Everyone and their grandmother would have given some form of visible reaction. You guys were trained to act normal a little too much~!" she remarked as she slid her ninja scroll out of her skirt. "So, you gonna explain why you up and attacked me out of nowhere? Or do I have to beat the answers out of you?"

The 'farmers' cast aside the erroneous parts of their disguises and prepared to fight.

"Ooh, I was hoping you would make that choice~."

One serious beating later, a rather irritated Katsuragi glowered at the only man who managed to remain conscious. He was trying to crawl away from her like she was some kind of monster. Crouching down, she grabbed the man by the back of his hair and slammed his face into the ground once more. Harvesting her 'face-plant', Katsuragi flipped the man over and grabbed him by the collar.

"Litsen up jackass, I was willing to do this the easy way and just beat you guys senseless even though you tried to kill me." she grumbled in annoyance as she loomed over the man.

The poor fool let out a whimper.

"But then you went and groped me."

True to her word, the ninja had accidentally groped one of Katsuragi's breasts during their fight. Which was unfortunate for him, as only women are allowed to handle her funbags. Though there was one hottie in particular she was still waiting to be molested by.

"So your beating turned into a mauling and now you're gonna answer my questions. And if I think you're lying, I'm gonna shove Dragon Rebellion so far up your ass that I'll be able to stomp on your throat!" she threatened as she slammed her boot right next to the ninjas head. "And let me warn you, it has a lot of sharp bits to it~." to emphasize her warning, the boot shifted open to reveal the various mechanical parts that it was comprised of.

The man trembled for a moment before opening his mouth to respond. But Katsuragi noticed the small glint in his mouth and threw herself backwards. As soon as the man bit down, his head exploded, as did the heads of his two companions.

Katsuragi brushed the dirt off her skirt as she gazed at the remains. Moments later the bodies spontaneously combusted and began to rapidly burn.

"Shit... The hell was that about?"

 **(-)**

"Argghhhh!"

A busty blonde was crying in outrage as she lost yet another hand at poker. The younger woman standing behind her was doing her best to placate the blondes rage, but it was having little effect. Not that the other players at the table had anything to complain about. They were the ones who ended up with her money, and with every swing of her arms as she rage, her massive breasts would bounce about in her shirt.

"Err, Tsunade-san, perhaps we should try another game elsewhere?"

The elder of the two grumbled out some more obscenities before reluctantly stepping away from the table. Her charge let out a sigh of relief upon successfully dissuading the blonde from losing _all_ of their money. However her worries returned when she noticed that Tsunade was making her way towards the bar. Alcohol was the last thing she needed right now.

"Don't you think it's time we call it quits for the day?"

The pig in the woman's arms oinked in agreement.

Tsunade dismissed her with a wave. "I just need something to calm me down. Then I'll be ready for another game."

' _But that will just make things worse!'_

Heedless of her companions internal panic, Tsunade proceeded to down a few shots of liquor at the bar as she psyched herself up for some more gambling.

"Law of Averages says I have to win at some point. My odds of losing again will continue to decrease ad-infinitum until I win." she reasoned to herself.

"Gah! 21 again?!" cried a dismayed voice.

Tsunade and Shizune cast their gaze towards the loud wailing as a man staggered away from a table in nothing but his underwear. Still remaining at the table was a woman with long blue-hair wearing a light-blue sundress and hat. Her lips were set into a smirk and her eyes were just barely open. In her hands she was shuffling a deck of cards with a professional flourish. But what caught Tsunade's eyes was the large pile of ryo stacked high next to the bluenette.

"Now then, does anyone else wish to challenge me? I'll be glad to help lighten your wallets~." she goaded as she beckoned the other patrons to challenge her.

"Ohhh, that's a lot of ryo..." the Sannin said in awe. It was easily enough to keep her and Shizune set for an entire year, even taking her habitual gambling into account. But she was shaken from her fantasies when the man sitting next to her nudged her shoulder.

"Don't even think about lady." he remarked as his gaze followed Tsunade's. "That chick has been cleaning out the place all day long."

The blonde sighed in longing as she gazed at all the ryo. As much as she likes to gamble, it wouldn't do her any good to go against someone who apparently can't be beat.

"It is mighty tempting though." the man added as he took a sip from his glass. "All you have to do is beat her once, and everything there is yours. Not many people are willing to pass up an opportunity like that eh?"

However when the man turned to face Tsunade again, she was already at the blue-haired woman's table demanding a game.

"Hahhh... There goes another sucker..."

Shizune had immediately rushed over to dissuade the woman before she did something she'd regret.

"Tsunade-san! I urge you to reconsider! You're being blinded by money again!"

The woman simply held up a finger in a shushing gesture. "Hush, I need to get in the zone."

Tittering in amusement, the bluenette began to shuffle the deck of cards in her hands. "I see yet another greedy soul has been seduced by my challenge~. Let's hope you put up a better fight than the last person~. Your starting wager is only one-hundred ryo, but with every loss you must double the amount for the next round. It only seems fair since you only need to win once to obtain my riches."

Tsunade grinned as she placed her wager on the table. The odds were finally looking to be in her favor. "I may be a chronic loser, but with only one win needed, I can't possibly fail!"

"Very well~." the woman spoke happily as she dealt out the cards. "My name is Nachi. Just thought you should know the name of the person who you will be losing to~."

Tsunade was far too blinded by her potential winnings to hear Shizune's qualms, nor notice Nachi's smirk widen ever so slightly.

 **(-)**

"Hmm, I suppose you were just all talk and no show." Nachi lamented insincerely as she pulled over the last of Tsunade's money to her pile.

The woman in question was slumped over on the table and quietly weeping, asking 'where did I go wrong?'.

"Now, this is usually where most people would end things, but I like to eke out as much profit as I possibly can."

Tsunade's head tilted up ever so slightly to glare at Nachi.

"Those clothes of yours look rather nice. I'm sure they would fetch a good price on the street~."

Sitting back up, Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Nachi. "What are you implying?"

Drumming her fingers against the table, Nachi's smile became even more devious. "I'll let you continue the game, but with every loss you must give me an article of clothing~."

The men who had gathered round to watch became excited at the proposition, while Shizune began to pale.

"Rules are still the same; one win and my riches are yours." the bluenette offered enticingly as she shuffled the cards once more. "Are you in?"

Now blinded by rage as well as greed, Tsunade wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smile off Nachi's face.

"DEAL ALREADY!"

Shizune nearly fell backwards in a dead faint as Tsunade slammed her fist on the table.

"Very well~." Nachi replied as her eyes opened ever so slightly.

Several rounds later and Tsunade was clad in only a bra and panties, looking down at her cards in horror.

"B-bust..." she solemnly stated.

Nachi tittered once more. "What a coincidence. Now we get to see _your_ bust~."

The Sannin's face burned with shame as she undid the back of her bra with one hand while using the other to cover up her nipples. Freeing the massive mounds from their prison, the men cheered in excitement as Tsunade placed the garment on the table with the rest of her attire. All she had left was her panties and necklace, the latter of which she would never give up.

"So, do you wish to give up and leave with at least a little bit of your dignity intact? Or do you want to risk the last of it on another hand?"

By now Tsunade would have very much welcomed Shizune's voice of reason to beg her to give up, but the poor girl had already fallen unconscious, leaving her pig to try and nudge her awake.

Tsunade ground her teeth as impulse overrode logic, and uttered the words that would be her undoing.

"ONE LAST ROUND!"

The spectators were ecstatic at the prospect of seeing Tsunade's fully naked body. Not a single one of them expected her to win.

Nachi shrugged. "It's your dignity on the line~."

Looking at the final hand she was dealt, Tsunade's hidden card was an Ace, while her revealed was a 2. Her current total was 13.

Tapping the table, she was happy with her current odds. "Hit me."

Throwing out the next card, it was another Ace.

Total of 14.

"Hit."

A third Ace.

Total of 15.

Tsunade was doing cartwheels in her mind. Things were finally looking up for her.

"Hit."

A 2. Still room for her to work with.

"Hit."

Another 2.

Total of 19.

Her heartbeat had skyrocketed and her hands were trembling. This could finally be it!

"Hit."

The card came out. It was a King.

For a moment she panicked, but then realized that with her Aces, she could turn that into a 20!

Having blocked out everything around her, Tsunade jumped up with her arms in the air, inadvertently flashing the entire room.

"STAY, BITCH!"

When the entire room cheered, she thought it was because of her lucky hand. However it suddenly hit her that they didn't know what her hidden card was. Glancing down, she saw her exposed breasts. She quickly sat back down and covered up. Flashing the entire crowd wasn't something worth making a fuss over. After all, it was a price worth paying if it meant winning that huge pile of ryo.

But even after seeing Tsunade's cards, Nachi's smile never faltered.

"Hmm, seems that lady luck has finally smiled upon you." Nachi said in acknowledgement.

Tsunade snorted in self-assurance.

Then she noticed Nachi's card was a King. She still needed to draw her second card.

"But, she smiles even brighter at me~."

The Ace of spades.

The world around Tsunade came crumbling down. All of her excitement was stripped away from her in that one moment. And soon something else would be.

"I believe you have something for me~." Nachi teased as she extended her hand.

Tsunade growled out countless obscenities as she tried to find the best way to go about stripping while maintaining coverage. She finally decided to uncover her breasts, seeing as how everyone already saw them, and use one hand to remove her panties while the other covers her crotch. What she didn't take into account was her feet getting tangled in the garment, throwing off her balance and sending her falling backwards onto her ass with her legs spread.

All present now had a clear, unobstructed view of the woman's pussy.

"My, my, looks like someone needs to do some gardening down there~." Nachi teased as she took note of the messy bush of pubes around Tsunade's slit.

Face turning as red as an Uzumaki's hair, Tsunade scrambled to her feet and bolted out of the building, leaving behind the unconscious Shizune to be dragged away by her pig.

 **(-)**

Shinobi Arts Index:

Saigonoichigeki: Ikazuchi no Tsurugi (Final Strike: Sword of Lightning)- Hinata pumps all of her remaining power into a single lightning blade, and performs an iai slash with it. The attack is akin to a massive lightning bolt being swept across her surroundings. This is her strongest attack and is only possible when her armor is completely gone. Its damage potential is determined by how much chakra she has left, as the attack drains whatever remains. As a result, she will be unable to fight any further after using it, until she can recover her strength.


	17. Chapter 17

"I actually can't believe the idiot managed to get another chapter done, all things considered. He's gotten so good at Sekiro, that he's starting to think he actually _is_ a shinobi. Perhaps it's that mentality that has helped push him along. Because it certainly wasn't me.

Apparently things are starting to diverge from canon, and the next chapter will be another one of those 'elsewhere in the Elemental nations' things. Maybe then he'll get things moving again.

So get to reading and then bug him to write the next chapter already."

 **(-)**

"It seems that this has been a miscalculation on all our parts." Yumi stated solemnly from her seat at the table with her fellow shinobi. "We were so focused on trying to locate our friends, that we failed to consider that the Yoma might have followed us here."

The Gessen elite was taking the news rather hard, as her student almost died during her encounter with the Nue. Hell, her jonin-sensei was crippled for life as a result of the battle.

"No point in kicking ourselves about what's already happened." Miyabi remarked with a sigh. "The next step is to prepare for what happens when more of them show up. And they most certainly _will_ show up."

"No doubt about it." Kumi agreed with a head nod. "Although that was a Class A Yoma, it was still an adolescent Nue. Things could've been a lot worse."

"If a Class A is present in the land, then Classes E through B must be hanging around as well. We just haven't heard anything about them yet." Imu opined as she adjusted her glasses.

"With these peoples limited capability of long-range communications, coupled with superstitions and the like, it would be pretty difficult to pick out the genuine reports." added Yuuyaki. "We were lucky enough to stumble upon it in our travels."

Running a hand through her hair, Miyabi groaned in aggravation as she stood up. "I need to inform the Hokage about this."

"Do you think that is a wise idea?" asked Kumi. "Don't want to cause mass panic or anything."

"He'll be sure to keep it discreet. At the very least he can have his special forces try to locate targets for us. While alerting the entire populace would have drastic consequences, we can't just keep this information to ourselves."

"Miyabi-san is right. If we leave them to their own devices, then they will just be rushing off to die should they encounter the stronger Yoma."

"But we don't have the numbers or the resources to handle every problem that pops up..." Murasaki added quietly. "If we remain here, this village will be safe... but the others may suffer as a result... Many will die..."

Miyabi's hand clenched into a fist. Her kouhai was right. They could protect Konoha and the surrounding towns, but the Yoma certainly won't do them the favor of staying within their combat range. Even now the white-haired woman was worried about Naruto. He may be strong, but just like Hinata he is unprepared to face the demons.

"For now we can only hope that our comrades are out there dealing with some of these problems. But we can't rely on such a solution for long."

Silence persisted among the girls who had resided in the village the longest. But eventually it had to be broken.

"Hikage." Miyabi spoke up.

"Hnn?"

"I want you to try to catch up with Katsuragi and fill her in on the situation. We need to put together a plan for what to do next." she explained before her gaze turned towards the sky above. "Our days of staying in this village are numbered."

 **(-)**

"Alright kid," Jiraiya remarked as he and Naruto arrived at their destination, a rather large town that is well known for its gambling establishments. "I'm gonna see if I can dig up any leads on our target. For now I want you to just lay low and get a feel for the place. We might be here for a while."

Naruto nodded firmly. "Whatever you say, ero-sennin!" he replied before sprinting off down the street.

The Sannin's eye twitched. "And stop calling me that!"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Jiraiya couldn't stop the smile that made its way across his face as he watched Naruto take in the sights with an excited look.

"I suppose I should get to work now." he mused aloud as he scratched his head. That was, until a hottie walked past his field of view. "... Then again, I think I earned myself a short break~."

Completely oblivious to the fact that his temporary guardian had just blown off his duties, Naruto made his way through the market district and was enthralled by all the goods on display. From fancy clothes and ninja tools, to toys and accessories, the place seemed to have everything. Patting down his pocket to make sure he still had his wallet with him (a proper one, as Miyabi insisted he get), he decided to see about making a few purchases. Perhaps a gift for Hinata.

He was thinking something along the lines of jewelry, but most of the stands seemed a bit on the expensive side. It wouldn't do him any good if he ended up blowing all his money on a single necklace.

"Hey, you there!" a voice called out.

Naruto turned his attention towards the loud voice. It was a man who appeared to be in his forties who had a small vendor setup. And by small, it was just a blanket on the ground and a few boxes with various bits of jewelry along with other miscellaneous items. The shoddy looking spread was equally matched by the man himself. He sat cross-legged on the ground, wearing wooden sandles, black hakama pants, and a bright-pink shirt that was covered in gaudy looking tropical flowers. With his messy silver-hair that was tied in a thin ponytail at the back, combined with his faint beard stubble and scent of alcohol, he looked every part the vagrant he probably was.

"Yeah, you kid!" he called out again as he beckoned Naruto over. "You look like a gentleman of good taste. How would you like a look at my wares?"

Subtly taking a step backwards, Naruto held up his hands to decline. "Err, thanks... But I'm just browsing."

The man gave a toothy smile and waved him over once more. "That's what they all say. Right before they spot something they want to buy." the man remarked with a glint in his eye. "Looking for something to buy for that special lady in your life?"

Momentarily surprised, the genin decided to humor the man. "How'd you know?"

Shrugging with a smirk, the man made himself look a little more presentable. "Intuition. That, and you've been eyeing the jewel stands far more than any of the others." he explained as he pointed at the other stands. "But I can tell that you're off-put by the exorbitant prices they have. But here at Jin's Jewel Emporium, the customer chooses the price!" he finished his pitch with the charismatic smile of a true salesman.

"But... do you even make any profit that way?" Naruto asked as he sat down.

Jin's smile faltered ever so slightly as sweat dripped down his face. Then he suddenly slumped over and began sobbing. "No... This poor fool hasn't seen a profit since I started selling..."

Feeling a bit sorry for bringing up such a sore topic, Naruto wanted to console the man. "Don't worry... I'm sure you'll-"

"But!" Jin quickly interrupted as he sat back up with a smirk. "It is seeing the customer happy with their purchase which brings me the most joy! So what if I am forced to eat expired food and sleep under a bridge?! As long as my wares bring happiness to those who need it most, I shall continue to provide for them!" he proclaimed resolutely.

The blonde wasn't sure whether the man was worth respecting or pitying for his choices.

Returning back to a more calm demeanor, Jin held his hands out towards his wares. "So, you interested in making a purchase?"

Making up his mind, Naruto decided he wanted to throw the man a bone. "I want to get something nice for my girlfriend. Perhaps a locket or something along those lines..."

The man hummed in thought as he rubbed his chin. "Any particular color you have in mind?"

"Blue or purple. Those are the colors that would be best."

"Ah! I think I have just what you need!" Jin responded as he opened up one of his boxes and began to rummage through it. Moments later he pulled out a necklace of some sort. It had a silver chain to wrap around the neck, tied to a silver locket that had an oval shaped amethyst embedded on its front. "You like?" he asked as he held it out for Naruto to see.

Looking over the necklace, Naruto just _knew_ it was the perfect thing to give to Hinata as a gift. "I'll take it!" he replied with a thumbs up.

Jin nodded happily. "Very good... That'll be 50,000 ryo."

Naruto nearly fell over in shock. "What the hell happened to the whole 'the customer chooses the price' thing! That's highway robbery!"

The vendor looked down at the locket as if he were parting with a dear friend before whimpering. "Fine. 500 ryo... But that's as low as I'll go!"

"You don't understand how haggling works, do you?" Naruto asked with a sweatdrop. Pulling out a handful of bills, he handed them to Jin. "Here's 5,000 ryo. That sounds reasonable."

Jin gave Naruto a beaming smile as he rapidly packaged the purchase. "A pleasure doing business with you sir! I'm sure that Hinata will be pleased with your gift!"

Feeling his face heat up and blush, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Aw, shucks. That's unfair of you to say that."

Having finished the transaction, Naruto put away his gift and stood up to leave.

"Hold on a minute kid." Jin spoke up, halting Naruto's departure. "I see you have one of them metal plate things. That makes you some kind of shinobi, right?"

Naruto puffed out his chest in pride as he jabbed a thumb at his chest. "You bet! The name's Naruto Uzumaki! Proud genin and future Hokage of Konohagakure -dattebayo!"

"Well then, Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure-dattebayo," Jin responded, mistaking Naruto's verbal tic for the name of his village. "since you aren't from around here, I only think it fair to give you a warning about the area."

Tilting his head in confusion, Naruto waited for the man to elaborate.

"Word on the streets is that some nasty monsters have been on the prowl recently. Few are willing to leave the safety of town at night unless they have guards for protection."

"Monsters?"

"Aye. And I don't mean over-sized animals or horrible people, but actual demons and the like." Jin explained as his posture slackened. "When you travel as much as I do, constantly hearing the same rumors in different towns lends credence to their authenticity... That, and on the occasion they actually find a body..." the man shivered. "It ain't pretty..."

Naruto began to form a cold sweat as he took the mans words for what they were worth. He looked far too haunted for it to be a lie.

Jin gave a slight sigh as he reached into another box and pulled something else out. "Here, catch." he spoke as he tossed the object to Naruto.

Snatching it out of the air, it was revealed to be another necklace. However while also silver in color, the chain on this one was chain-linked, and at the bottom was some type of reptilian claw that was grasping an opaque red orb.

"What's this?"

"One of my specially made charms. It'll help ward off danger. Consider it thanks for humoring this foolish vendor."

Naruto wasn't really sure how to respond. "Geez, thanks man. I'll be sure to keep it with me." he said as he looped the charm around his neck.

Giving the boy one last grin, Jin waved as he walked off. "No need to thank me kid. If fate permits it, perhaps we will meet again! I'll be sure to give you a discount if we do!"

Naruto could only chuckle at the man. He really didn't understand how to run a business.

 **(-)**

"Hey barkeep, have you seen anyone who resembles the chick in this picture?" Jiraiya asked the man tending the bar as he held up one of Tsunade's old photographs.

Glancing up from the glass he was cleaning, his eyes widened in recognition before he began to chuckle. "Oh, you're looking for the Blackjack Bush?"

Jiraiya's face scrunched up in confusion. "The what now?"

"Heh, heh, why don't you take a seat and I'll tell you an amazing story." the man suggested as he pulled out a glass for Jiraiya. "First, what'll it be?"

"Hmm, just give me some sake. Nothing too strong, I got places to be."

"Right away sir."

After pouring the drink and wiping down the bar top, the man began his tale.

"So, one day we get word that the legendary sucker is in town, and everyone starts praying that she'll stop by so they can lighten her wallet. But before she even made it here, another woman arrived. Said her name was Nachi, but she looked dressed to go for a picnic rather than gamble. Still, the large briefcase full of ryo was enough to get the attention of our regulars. The entire day she was here, she cleaned out everyone who challenged her to blackjack. The challenge even sounded like you were guaranteed to win. Win one hand and all her money was yours."

Jiraiya already had an idea of where this story was going.

"The buy in was also low, so each player would think their losses wouldn't be too bad. Turns out that was a trap she used to lure in the foolish and greedy. Every hand ended with her victory. But get this; some ninja even played against her and still lost. They went in thinking she was using some kind of genjutsu, but there never was any. But I'm getting off topic. Eventually your lady friend heard about the challenge, and well... You can see where I'm going with this?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened next.

"But it gets even better. Nachi was willing to let miss sucker keep playing, provided she gave up one article of clothing with each loss."

Now Jiraiya was totally focused on the mans story.

"Before you know it, she was down to just her panties, but even they didn't last long. As she tried to remove them while still covering herself, she ended up tripping and..." the bartender then pulled out a photograph. "we all got a pretty good view of her."

Blood was pouring out of Jiraiya's nose like a waterfall as steam billowed out his ears. The photograph that was placed in front of him was a picture of Tsunade... Butt naked on her ass with her legs spread for all to see. He was also able to see where the 'bush' part of her new title came from.

' _Someone call the gardener!'_

 **Several hours later...**

"How certain are you that she'll be able to fix your arms?" Kabuto asked as he and Orochimaru headed back to their temporary hideout in the area. "She seems to be equal parts uncertain and hesitant to your offer."

The snake Sannin chuckled mirthlessly. "Sure enough that I don't have a backup plan should things go south. She will do as I ask. Either of her own volition, or by force."

Kabuto nodded. "Well, you are far more familiar with her than I am. I suppose your judgement is the most accurate. Though I'm more worried about her 'guard dog' interfering."

"Hmph, to think she would pick up a stray. Then again, someone needs to keep hold of her wallet." Orochimaru sneered as he glanced down at his frozen hands. "Only a little while longer, and then I'll be released from this ice~."

"I'm afraid it isn't as simple as that."

Both rogue ninja spun in alarm towards the person who managed to sneak up on them. Once they were in sight, Orochimaru glared at them with hate-filled eyes. The person was wearing the unmistakable uniform of the Akatsuki.

Kabuto reached for a kunai from his pouch, but the individual raised their hands to show they meant no harm.

"Hold on! Let's not be doing anything we'll end up regretting."

The rogue Sannin narrowed his eyes. The person was definitely male, judging from the sound of their voice, but it wasn't anyone he recognized from his time in the terrorist organization. Kabuto glanced towards Orochimaru, awaiting a signal to take action. Briefly weighing his options, his curiosity got the better of him.

"What do you mean it won't be that simple? Are you privy to this particular jutsu?"

The man shrugged in response. "Perhaps. There are so many jutsu in the world, and though I am capable of remembering them all, I just can't be bothered to do so."

Orochimaru huffed in amusement. "That's quite a claim you have. Though I fail to see why you would refuse to memorize them."

He chuckled weakly. "That's because those jutsu's are only worth remembering if you can use them. Still, that doesn't mean I'm not familiar with how they work."

Slowly taking a step forward as he began his explanation, Kabuto motioned to intercept the man. However Orochimaru had him hold back.

"You can't use jutsu?"

Shaking his head, the man sighed. "No. Ninjutsu is not something I am capable of. Neither is genjutsu, and though I can fight in hand-to-hand combat, I don't use taijutsu."

Orochimaru scoffed. "You sound completely useless. What _can_ you do?"

The man brought his finger up in a shushing gesture. "Now that would be telling~."

"Enough stalling." Kabuto interceded. "Either tell us what you know or we'll force the information out of you."

It seemed that the man found Kabuto's threat to be funny, because he responded by inclining his head to chuckle. "How amusing. To think you would entertain the notion of beating me."

Kabuto bared his teeth slightly in anger while Orochimaru remained impassive.

"Hahh, very well... I'll just move on to the part you wish to hear. The jutsu that imprisons your hands is of another type altogether. That Tsunade woman will be of no help to you."

"And just how would you know that?" Kabuto asked. "You already said that-"

"That I can't utilize any of the normal jutsus, yes." the man interrupted. "But that doesn't mean I'm incapable of neutralizing them."

Now the man had Orochimaru's attention. "You can remove the ice?"

"With ease. In fact, I am more than willing to."

The snake-man smirked. "And what's stopping you from killing me the moment I let you get close enough? You are Akatsuki after all."

"I could ask the same of you. You could try to bite my neck and tear out my throat, but I think you'll find me a bit tough to chew. Besides, just because I'm Akatsuki, doesn't mean I can't have my own agenda apart from theirs. And it just so happens that you can be of use to me."

"Hoh, so forward~. You just outright state your intention to manipulate me."

"It's not quite manipulation if the person being manipulated is aware of it." the man countered. "Think of it more as an investment towards the future."

Rummaging through his pocket, the Akatsuki man pulled out a small vial filled with a red liquid and held it up for Orochimaru to see. "Consider this a down-payment on our inevitable collaboration." he remarked as he tossed the vial towards Kabuto.

Catching the small container, Kabuto looked it over with a scrutinizing gaze. "What is this? It looks like..."

"Blood?" the man provided as an answer. "Yes, but it's a very special type of blood."

"How so?" Orochimaru asked as Kabuto held the vial up for him to examine.

The man angled his head slightly and his smirk became noticeable. "Put a few drops on that ice and you'll see what I mean."

Still wary of the man, Orochimaru nodded for Kabuto to do as instructed. Allowing the blood to drip onto the ice that covered his arms, the rouge Sannin widened his eyes as the ice began to melt and evaporate, while leaving his skin unharmed. Flexing his fingers a few times to get the blood flowing again, he was equal parts impressed as he was curious.

"Well this is certainly a nice surprise~." he opined as his gaze returned to the mysterious man. "Would you mind telling me just who you are?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" the man responded as he wagged his finger. "It would be incredibly foolish of me to reveal such an important card during our first meeting... Unless of course, you were willing to accept my proposal for working together?"

Orochimaru frowned at the response. As impressed by the man as he might be, he had no intention of working with someone who was obviously a member of the Akatsuki. He needed something more before he would be willing to accept the mans offer.

"I can see you are in need of more persuading." the man mused, seemingly reading Orochimaru's mind. "How's this; a show of force, a presentation of my capabilities?"

"Explain."

"You already made an arrangement with that Tsunade lady for her to fix your arms, but considering that Jiriaya has caught up to her and is currently trying to convince her to return to the Leaf to become the next Hokage," the man elaborated, shocking Orochimaru with the information. "I'd say her odds of taking you up on your offer have drastically reduced. So how about I go to the meeting point in your place and have some fun~?"

"... Who are you exactly?" Orochimaru asked with amusement.

The man tilted his hat down to further conceal his face. "Just another monster hiding in the shadows~."

 **Elsewhere...**

"So~," Jiraiya started as he directed a knowing smirk at Tsunade. "did you have any luck recently when it comes to gambling?"

Already tipsy and trying her damnedest to repress the memory of her most disastrous loss ever, Tsunade did her best to feign ignorance. "No. Just the same old shit..." she responded as she took another sip from her glass.

As for the other two occupants at the table, Shizune was dearly hoping that Jiraiya was unaware of _that_ loss and that Tsunade wouldn't explode on him, while Naruto was doing his best to recall what little information he picked up on Tsunade from when Miyabi had him research Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

"Really?" Jiraiya probed again. "No spectacular loss the likes of which you would never be able to live with?"

' _Oh God! He knows!'_ Shizune screamed in her mind.

"Eh? Did she do something ero-sennin?" Naruto asked innocently.

Fortunately Jiraiya's new title was enough to make Tsunade chuckle and brighten her mood, much to Shizune's thanks. Unfortunately, Jiraiya felt the need to turn the tables on her.

"Well Naruto," he remarked as he pointed at Tsunade. "do you see how her face is bush- I mean, blushing..."

It was obvious as all hell that his slip of the tongue was intentional. The glass in Tsunade's hand shattered as she glared daggers at her fellow Sannin. "How do you want to die Jiraiya?" she asked with venom dripping from every syllable.

The man smirked and pulled out a photograph. "Preferably with this in hand~."

Of course, the picture he was holding out was the nude picture of Tsunade spread-eagle. The med-nin blanched at the sight of it.

"But it would be a real shame if this somehow made its way into sensei's possession." he added as a thinly veiled threat.

After a few moments of silence, Tsunade slumped over with a whine. "First him, now you... I feel like the world is out to get me..."

"'Him'?" Jiraiya responded in confusion.

"A certain bastard who brings up bad memories..." she answered as she sat back up.

"Orochimaru eh? What's that snake up to now?" he thought aloud as he rubbed his chin.

After sending a brief look towards Shizune, Tsunade shook her head. "No idea. It's hard to tell with him." she took another sip from her glass. "So why don't we just get down to business. You tell me the reason that you tracked me down, and I'll skip to the part where I tell you to screw off."

The toad sage steeled his face as he leaned forward. "I'm sure that snake bragged to you about his attack on the Leaf."

"Yeah, so?"

"Sensei was wounded pretty bad during their fight. He's no longer fit to be the Hokage." Jiraiya then pointed at Tsunade. "Thus it has been decided that you shall be the 5th Hokage of the Leaf."

Both Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened in shock at this news, while Naruto choked on his food and fell over. Ignoring the blondes reaction, Tsunade clasped her hands together and covered her face as she sighed.

"As if I don't already have enough things to deal with..." she lamented as she noticed Naruto recover.

"You're telling me we came all the way here to find the new Hokage?!" he shouted indignantly. "Why didn't anyone ask if I wanted the job?!"

"Quiet kid!" Jiraiya barked as he bonked Naruto on the head.

"Who is this kid anyway?" Tsunade asked. "I thought you said you hated little brats."

Seeing as how Naruto was still nursing his bruise, Jiraiya answered for him. "This here is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki huh?"

"So, what's your answer?" the male Sannin asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

Tsunade shook her head. "Impossible... I decline."

Jiraiya looked slightly shocked by her response, but then started to chuckle. "I believe those are the same words you used when I asked you out way back when." he remarked before his face became serious again. "But there's more to it than that. Kakashi Hatake has been put in a coma that we have been unable to wake him from. Courtesy of Itachi Uchiha."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up and slammed his palms on the table. "Kakashi-sensei is in a coma? When were you planning on telling me?"

The boys qualms were summarily ignored as Jiraiya kept his focus on Tsunade. "Even if you decline the position as the 5th, we still need your assistance in waking up my #1 fan."

"Why's it gotta be this lady?!" Naruto demanded an answer. "What's so special about her?"

Jiraiya smirked. "She's the best person for the job. She has skills that are unique to her alone, along with being the granddaughter of the 1st. Face it Naruto, you just can't compare as an applicant."

Naruto fumed in silence as the woman continued to argue with Jiraiya. It even got to the point that Jiraiya was starting to glare at her.

"In the end, being the Hokage is a shit job. Only a total fool would take on such a burden."

Naruto snapped at that remark and tried to lunge across the table and punch Tsunade, but Jiraiya grabbed him by the neck.

"Let me go! I need to hit her!" the blonde growled as he started swinging at air.

"Kid, have you forgotten that we're still in public?" Jiraiya asked with a groan.

"I don't care! Anyone who insults the Hokage is gonna get their ass kicked!" Naruto shouted back as he stood his ground. "The Hokage is the one who looks after the entire village, the one who protects us with their life! And I won't let some drunk woman get away with saying such things!"

"Hoh?" Tsunade muttered as she stood up and stared Naruto in the face. "You got some guts kid. Why don't we take this outside so I can smack them out of you?"

Jiraiya palmed his face. "Oh boy..."

Deciding to humor the kid, Tsunade led the group outside so she could pummel Naruto without causing collateral damage. So Jiraiya stood at the center of their impromptu arena to act as the ref while Naruto and Tsunade stood across from each other.

"I would set rules if this was a sanctioned fight, but this will just be a massacre." the elder man remarked.

"Heh! Looks like ero-sennin is feeling confident about my victory!" Naruto boasted.

"He was talking about me slaughtering you!" Tsunade barked in response. A grin then split her lips as she extended her index finger. "One finger. That's all I need to beat you~."

Naruto frowned at how much he was being underestimated, but smirked when he thought up a way to use that to his advantage.

Jiraiya noticed the smirk on Naruto's face and instantly had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Hey lady, you like to gamble, right?" Naruto groused as he took a stance.

"Hnn, yeah. What of it?"

"How about this," Naruto replied as he pointed at her. "If I beat you, then you have to take back everything you said about the Hokage, and come back to fix up Kakashi-sensei!"

Tsunade's inner gambler began to surface. "Tell you what," she countered as she showed off her necklace. "If you can land a single hit on me, I'll even throw in my necklace." she offered, surprising both Jiraiya and Shizune. "But if I win, then I want you to get on your hands and knees and agree that what I said is correct~."

Naruto momentarily faltered, but quickly recovered his confidence.

 _Jiraiya's thoughts; Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet!_

 _Shizune's thoughts; Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet, Please don't take the bet!_

 _The pigs thoughts; Please don't take the bet, oink!_

"I already bought my girlfriend a nice necklace, but I suppose she'll be happy with an extra. YOU'RE ON!"

' _SHIT!'_

Tsunade remained still with her cocksure grin, waiting for Naruto to come to her and then pound him into the ground. But the genin wouldn't let things go the way she wanted them to.

' _She's underestimating me. There's no way I have the strength to beat her in a fair fight, but with the element of surprise, my odds of victory increase somewhat.'_

' **And since she just lessened the requirement to win, you just need to overwhelm her before she realizes how strong you actually are.'** Kurama added.

' _I need to wait for the right moment, then go all out before she can react. You ready for this partner?'_

' **Just don't lose. I'd hate for this to be a waste of strength.'**

"Hey kid! You plan on attacking sometime tonight?" Tsunade called out as she used her hand to taunt him.

Naruto pulled out his scroll and quickly performed his transformation, much to the kunoichi's confusion.

' _What's that supposed to be? A henge?'_

The genin created a pair of shadow clones and rushed forward with them in the lead.

"Shadow clones?" Tsunade remarked, slightly impressed. "An impressive jutsu for you to know, but," he hand shot forward as she jabbed her finger into the lead clones chest. "still useless!"

However the moment she struck the clone, the smoke bomb Naruto gave it to hold went off, causing the street to be engulfed in smoke.

' _Now Kurama!'_

' **Right!'**

Even with her vision hindered by the smoke, Tsunade was able to immediately pinpoint Naruto's location from his chakra spike.

' _What?! The Kyuubi's chakra?!'_

Tsunade immediately struck at Naruto as he entered her field of view, but the moment she flicked his forehead with her finger, he exploded in a puff of smoke. It was another clone. One that Naruto had put an excess of the fox's chakra in to use as a decoy.

"Frantic mode: Final Release!"

Tsunade felt another spike of chakra, this time from behind. She didn't have enough time to block, she needed to dodge. But before she could move out of the way, a pair of hands erupted from the ground and grabbed hold of her ankles.

' _Another clone?!'_

Tsunade's hand shot out to try and intercept the incoming attack, but she failed to take into account what the attack was.

"RASENGAN!"

Not wanting to break the bones in her hand, Tsunade formed a fist in order to stop the powerful sphere.

The attack collided with Tsunade's fist, and for a moment time seemed to have stopped. Then there was an explosion as a result of the clash. Naruto was sent flying (and naked) into a dumpster, while Tsunade was sent spinning through the air down the street.

No one could have predicted such an outcome. Sure, Naruto was unable to beat Tsunade, but the large bruise on her hand was more than anyone had expected. Both Jiraiya and Shizune had dropped their jaws at the scene that just played out, while Tsunade lay weakly on the ground, staring at her trembling hand. Finally came Naruto's voice from the dumpster.

"You owe me one necklace!" he bragged out loud, momentarily paralyzed from how hard he pushed his body.


	18. Chapter 18

"So, I know what you're thinking; what came first? The chicken, or the egg?

Oh, wait... You weren't thinking that? Well then, that means you must be wondering why the hell it took so long for Author-san to get this chapter out. As it urns out, this thing happened, and then that thing happened, and so here we are. He tried pulling some kind of 'family drama' excuse on me, along with a bout of depression, but I ain't buying that shit. I still think he's just lazy. But regardless, he wants me to tell you that in order to get back into the swing of things, he needs to proceed with the main story before stopping to do the side stuff with the other characters...

What. A. Jackass."

 **(-)**

"So, do you have something to say to me~?" Naruto asked with a smug smile as he leaned on the table from his seat opposite to Tsunade.

Not wanting to get in trouble for the immense damage the previous nights wager had caused, the group had fled the scene and met up at one of the villages hotels. Refusing to accept what had just happened, the female Sannin immediately fell into an alcohol induced sleep and was unwilling to wake up. As such, Shizune was forced to deal with the aftermath of her 'guardians' mistakes, while Jiraiya had to deal with Naruto's bragging about how awesome he was. He was starting to regret teaching the kid the rasengan.

It wasn't until noon the next day that Tsunade finally returned to the waking world, and it wasn't until an hour later that she was willing to meet up with them at the restaurant across the street. Which led to the current situation; being that Naruto was rubbing his victory into Tsunade's hungover face. It was a borderline miracle that none of his teeth were punched out yet.

"Not a damn thing." Tsunade grumbled quietly as the grip on her glass of water tightened further.

"Really? Because I seem to recall you saying something about me not being able to land a hit on you~."

The Sannin let out a sigh of aggravation. "You didn't hit me. I blocked your attack with my fist."

"But who was it that said, and I quote; 'One finger. That's all I need to beat you'." the blonde genin countered with a smirk. "And just what did you use to stop me?"

"Listen kid," Tsunade growled out as she took a sip from her water. "I'm trying to deal with a killer hangover right now, and your constant pestering isn't making my life any better."

"All you gotta do is admit you lost, and then I'll leave you alone."

Jiraiya had to hand it to the kid; he wasn't even hesitating to do what basically amounted to poking an angry tiger with a stick. But that was probably just foolhardiness from his victory the previous night. Casting a glance at the other occupant at the table, he noticed Shizune was getting increasingly worried about the possibility that Tsunade would snap and throttle Naruto. This time without pulling her punches.

Seeing as how her attempts at getting Naruto to lay off weren't working, the older woman decided to redirect her anger. And it just so happened that Jiraiya was now the target. "Why in gods name did you teach this kid the rasengan? Most teachers start out with the easier jutsus instead of going straight to the dangerous stuff."

The white-haired man gave a sheepish laugh. "It might have been an impulsive decision I made after seeing him already master summoning."

Tsunade looked at him with deadpan. "By that logic, you would give high explosives to someone who can light a match."

Jiraiya needed an out, and he needed it immediately. He could see Tsunade preparing to lash out at him for Naruto's antics, and he had no intention of suffering the consequences of his own actions from months ago.

"So, what did Orochimaru want with you?" he responded, turning serious enough to shift the mood at the table.

Fortunately Naruto was wise enough to pick up on the sudden tone shift and quieted down. After all, he knew that Orochimaru wanted something from Sasuke.

"Tch, just wanted to catch up..." she answered with an obvious lie.

"Really? It didn't have anything to do with his arms?"

Naruto perked up at that. "His arms?"

"One of your caretakers friends managed to seal his hands in a block of ice. Unless he can find a way to remove the ice, then he will never be able to perform jutsu again. So it isn't that difficult to figure out he would need an expert med-nin to fix him up."

The blonde nodded in understanding. "And since you three were a team..."

"Exactly." Jiraiya remarked as he clasped his hands together on the table. "Tell me, when does he expect you to meet up with him?"

Tsunade scoffed. "What makes you think I'm going to meet up with that creep?"

He narrowed his eyes. "It's because he's Orochimaru that I know you will meet with him again."

The female Sannin stiffened for a moment, but quickly took another sip from her drink. "I hate it when you're like this."

"And I hate it when I have to be like this to my friends." Jiraiya responded. "As it is right now, you have two options; return with us to the Leaf and at the very least help heal Kakashi, or aid Orochimaru and become our enemy. Which do you choose?"

Tsunade ran a hand through her hair and let out a heavy sigh. "You just had to spring this crap on me while I'm hungover?"

"The headache will make it harder for you to think of a way to weasel out of it." Jiraiya opined as he stood up from the table. "I will give you one hour to come to a decision. After that, all bets are off."

Having issued his ultimatum, Jiraiya gestured for Naruto to follow him. The blonde acquiesced, but stopped for a moment to address Tsunade one last time.

Fixing her a firm glare, the young teen pointed at her. "I don't know what your problem with being a Hokage is, and frankly I don't care!" he said with resolve. "The Hokage is the person who everyone in the village looks up to! They are the one who protects the hopes and dreams of every citizen, from the Nobles to the beggars on the street! Without the Hokage, there is no village! Without the village, there is no Hokage! And to say that the Hokage is crap... you are saying that everyone who lives and died for the village is crap!"

Tsunade nearly jumped to her feet at that remark, but Shizune was able to hold her back.

"Jii-san said that the Will of Fire that burns within every member of the village, will always burn on in here!" he shouted as he jabbed his thumb to his chest, right over his heart. "So has yours burnt out?" he finished curtly as he turned and left.

Fists trembling not in anger for once, Tsunade's gaze was locked on the ground, unwilling to meet the judgmental stare that Jiraiya leveled at her.

"The kid has a way with words. I blame it on the demon woman who's looking after him." the man opined as ran a hand through his hair. "And for what it's worth, sensei is sorry for everything that happened."

Finally alone save for Shizune, Tsunade couldn't stop the tear from falling from her eye.

"Dammit..."

 **Several days later...**

The roar of a chainsaw was accompanied by the sound of flesh being ripped in twain, followed by the splatter of an ichorous black fluid. The Demon Centipede Yoma chittered in agony as the rotating blades tore through the weakpoint in its carapace, but soon fell silent upon the slice being completed. Its grotesque head fell to the ground and the thrashing finally ceased.

"Hmph! Such vile creatures. As if centipedes weren't bad enough on their own." Haruka huffed as she gave her puppet a pat on the head.

Littered around the forest clearing were several horribly dismembered corpses of centipedes that were roughly twice the size of an adult human.

"Though I suppose I should be grateful for what little use they provided." the woman remarked as she smiled menacingly. "At least now we know that there are more of them out there."

"Mooou~! Haruka-chan, your face is scaring Karin-san!" her pink-haired friend pointed out quickly.

"I believe it has less to do with my face, and more to do with our recently solved insect problem."

True to her word, the red-head was currently cowering behind a tree while only _just_ peeking her head around to look. "W-w-what were those t-things?!"

"Those my dear Karin, were Yoma." Haruka answered as her puppet brought her lab coat back. "Adolescent Centipede Demons to be more precise."

"D-D-Demons?!" the younger girl stuttered out. "Like the Tailed Beasts?!"

The scientist-girl let out a low chuckle at Karin's lack of knowledge. "No, nothing like those. Because unlike the Bijuu, all Yoma are inherently evil. The only thing that they desire is the deaths of humans."

Karin slowly crept out from her cover to rejoin her fellow shinobi, albeit taking the long route around all the dead Yoma. "But I never heard of these things before! How can you be so nonchalant about this?!"

Haruka bent over and scooped up some of the black blood into a small vial that was covered in seals to prevent its decay. "Because we are a type of Shinobi that were trained specifically to deal with these monsters so that the rest of humanity can remain blissfully ignorant." she explained while taking a closer look at the blood she collected. "Still, I am quite surprised that they have shown up here. Something most foul is starting to unfold."

Hibari kicked the ground as her head lowered to hide her frown. "Things are gonna get bad soon, aren't they?"

Pocketing the blood sample, Haruka spun on her heel and maintained her confident smile. "Without a doubt. But that doesn't mean we'll just sit idly by and let the land fall to ruin. Killing Yoma is our specialty, so they don't stand a chance against us. On a related note, we'll need to speed up Karin's training if she is to keep up with us."

"Whatever you wish, Haruka-sama!" the aforementioned girl spoke with a look of determination.

A rather sinister smile formed on Haruka's lips upon witnessing the red-heads enthusiasm. That was an equally good and bad sign.

 **(-)**

After having spent the better part of the day searching the town she was in, Katsuragi decided to take a break in order to deal with her ramen deprivation. She was hot on the trail of her targets, but still didn't have an exact location pinned down, so she could afford a short reprieve.

"Ahhh~! Nothing beats a bowl of ramen after a hard days work!" she exclaimed as she finished slurping the last bits from her bowl and slamming the empty vessel on the counter.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else lady?" the proprietor of the food stand asked as he took the bowl from Katsuragi. "That was your third serving. Don't you think you should have some variety instead of only ramen?"

The blonde frowned and glared at the man. "Blasphemy! Ramen is the only thing you need to survive!"

"Aren't you at all worried about getting fa-"

"If you so much as finish that sentence, you'll be the mystery meat in your next 'special of the day'." she warned with her teeth bared. "Besides, anything I don't burn off goes to my girls~!" Katsuragi added as she groped her impressive bust.

Throwing his hands up in resignation, the man sighed and returned to his work.

After having another filling bowl of the good stuff, Katsuragi left her payment on the counter and took her leave. Looking up at the sky, she noticed that it was getting darker, and the day was drawing to a close. Shrugging to herself with a noncommittal grunt, she figured it'd be best that she call it a day. It's not like her targets were travelling faster than she was, so there wasn't any chance of losing them.

As she was walking down a back alley shortcut to reach the hotel she was staying at, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

"This feeling..."

Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind to focus her senses.

"I know this sensation... It's so familiar to me..."

There was a rustle in the darkness behind her, indicating that she wasn't alone.

"Did you really think you could sneak up on me like that~?" Katsuragi remarked with a wild grin, not even turning to face the source of the noise.

The person took a single step forward, and Katsuragi exploded into motion.

"You're a thousand years too early~!"

*grope, grope, boing, boing, squeeze, squeeze*

"Hello, Katsuragi." Hikage said with her usual monotone as the blonde began to vigorously molest her.

"I _knew_ it was you!" the bubbly girl remarked as she played with Hikage's fun bags. "Since you aren't wearing a bra, I recognized the sound of your boobs bouncing~!"

Hikage lacked an immediate response to that. Verbally, that is. Her body on the other hand, was quick on the draw.

' _It's warm again...'_

Katsuragi pressed her face into Hikage's cleavage and began to motorboat her.

' _How does she do it?'_

Stopping for a moment to catch her breath, Katsuragi looked up at Hikage without letting go of the girls boobs.

"So, whatcha' doing here Hikage? I thought I was the only one who was supposed to go searching?"

"Things came up." the verdette answered blandly.

"Oh~? Like what~?" the pervert asked with a glint in her eyes. "You missed your bed partner and just had to chase after me~?"

Katsuragi knew what to expect in response. Hikage would either remain silent and roll her eyes, sigh from exhaustion, or give some deadpan answer followed be her calling her a pervert.

"Yes."

... That wasn't what she was expecting. In fact, Katsuragi was so caught off by the answer, that she couldn't even come up with a proper response.

"Huh?"

The blonde felt Hikage reach up to cup her cheek with one hand, and reach over her shoulder with the other.

"You make me feel warm." she stated with what little passion she could form.

It wasn't much, but Katsuragi could see the dim flames of passion in her eyes.

"I wish to act upon this feeling, but I wish to give you the option to back. If you don't want this, say so now. Otherwise, I'm just going to kiss you."

Still stunned by Hikage's confession, Katsuragi wouldn't have been able to resist even if she wanted to. It took a moment longer than it should have for her to realize that Hikage's tongue had slipped into her mouth and was wrestling with her own. Upon realizing just what was happening, Katsuragi quickly met Hikage's enthusiasm with her own. She closed her eyes and pulled Hikage in even deeper for the kiss. With their mouths firmly clamped together, their arms lowered and began to explore each others bodies in a more intimate way that normal. While Katsuragi wasn't a stranger to groping girls, this was the first time she did so with with more _mature_ intentions. Her hands slipped beneath Hikage's sweater and quickly found what she was looking for. True to her earlier statement, Hikage had forgone a bra, so Katsuragi was able to massage the mounds of flesh directly. She could feel the protruding nubs of her nipples as they became erect from the stimulation. She became idly aware that Hikage had slid one of her legs between her thighs, and began rubbing it against her crotch. The blonde briefly broke the kiss to let out a quiet yelp when she felt Hikage take a firm grip of her buttocks and squeeze.

A small smile formed on the stoic girls lips. "That was cute..."

Katsuragi leaned in and whispered into Hikage's ear. "My hotel is just down the road."

 **(-)**

As soon as the two girls reached Katsuragi's room, they couldn't get their clothes off fast enough. They slammed the door behind them as they did their best to disrobe without breaking their embrace. The blondes skirt was the first to go, followed soon after by Hikage's sweater. Katsuragi leaned in and started sucking on one of Hikage's breasts, causing the girl to moan in pleasure. The verdette responded by leaning forward and undoing the ties of Katsuragi's side-tie panties. It took a moment for the garment to fall to the floor, as it was stuck to Katsuragi's crotch from her juices. It hit the ground with a wet slap, causing the blonde to blush from how aroused she was.

Taking a firm grip of Hikage's shoulders, Katsuragi threw her into the air and towards the bed. While airborne, Hikage utilized her incredible dexterity to slip her shorts and panties off before she even hit the bed. Katsuragi jumped at her lover as she threw off her shirt and bra, the two of them now completely naked. By the time Katsuragi began her descent, Hikage had already spread her legs apart in order to give the blonde direct access. She was gonna enjoy this.

"Itadakimasu~!"

 **(-)**

The four ninja had arrived early to the meeting spot that Orochimaru had decided upon. If the rouge Sannin was planning on setting any traps, it would be a difficult task for him to accomplish with them already present. Tsunade herself remained in the road, while Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shizune concealed themselves nearby.

It was of great surprise that Tsunade had chosen to renege on her deal with Orochimaru, but Jiraiya wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, they'd focus on taking the rogue out of the picture and ensure Konoha was safe from any of his future threats.

"Listen, Naruto..." Jiraiya spoke firmly as he kept his gaze locked on the opposite end of the road. "Leave Orochimaru to me and Tsunade. Your job is to help Shizune keep Kabuto occupied."

"Right!" the blonde gennin responded with a confidant smirk. "Four eyes won't stand a chance!"

"Take this seriously." the Sannin spoke gravely. "The upcoming battle will be on an entirely different level to what you are accustomed to."

The gennin gulped audibly, and nodded firmly as his face hardened. "Okay ero-sennin."

"You just had to ruin the moment..."

"Wait, I see someone coming." Shizune remarked as she narrowed her eyes down the street.

It wasn't of much surprise as to who it was. Orochimaru made his way towards them, with Kabuto lagging behind by only a few steps. His hands were still frozen in ice, and neither he nor Kabuto showed any form of expression on their faces. Even from their hiding place nearby, the trio could feel the tension in the air as Orochimaru grew closer to Tsunade.

"Remember, wait for her signal. That's when we attack." Jiraiya whispered.

Having deigned himself to be close enough, Orochimaru halted in his steps.

"So, have you come to a decision~?" the man asked in an unnervingly pleasant tone.

Tsunade nodded her head. "Yes. I will fix your arms, but you must swear not to harm the Leaf."

He chuckled. "I can hear the doubt in your voice. Do you believe I won't hold up my end of the bargain?"

The woman glared at him.

"Ah, I suppose you do have your reasons." he responded with a shrug. "But first," he then sneered as he looked directly at the hiding place of the others. "why don't you invite our spectators down for a front row seat~?"

Their eyes widened in alarm. How had he noticed them. They spent an hour making sure everything was planned down to the last detail.

Having been made, the three ninja joined up with Tsunade.

"Now this is what I'd call an acceptable audience~." the snake-man opined with his face looking all too gleeful. "I can see that you never intended to humor my offer."

Jiraiya took a step forward in front of Naruto. "For too long you've been a loose string that sensei failed to cut. So we're ending your plans here and now."

Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "I'm gonna enjoy caving your slimy face in."

Rather than look intimidated by the turn of events, Orochimaru simply chuckled in amusement. "It's so funny, really..."

Raising a brow, Tsunade had a nagging feeling at the back of her head that something was terribly wrong. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Orochimaru replied as he tried holding back further laughter. "you haven't even figured it out."

"Figured out what?" Jiraiya asked as he realized something was off.

"That with such odds stacked against me, why haven't I fled yet~?"

In the blink of an eye, the ice encasing the snake Sannin's hands vanished, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out some type of seal-tag. Ripping the paper in half, both his and Kabuto's appearances changed. Their images blurred as light reflected off surfaces that weren't there, revealing that they were an illusion all along.

"My apologies for the deception, but Orochimaru was adamant that you'd do something rash if anyone else arrived aside from him."

In Orochimaru's place was a man wearing an Akatsuki uniform, with his face concealed beneath a dragon-styled han'ya mask. Kabuto ended up being some random civilian who was tied up and gagged, being led along by a rope attached to his hands.

"Who the hell are you?! And where's Orochimaru?!" Jiraiya demanded. He didn't recognize this Akatsuki member at all.

"Does that ever actually work? Demanding an unknown enemy to identify themselves?" he asked reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with a dubious liquid. If one looked close enough, there was a tiny creature writing inside it. "You see, the Snake and I are working on a little project together, and I wanted to show him a sample of what I am capable of. So I offered to head here in his place."

Jerking on the rope, the man was pulled forward, and the Akatsuki grabbed him by the neck. The hostage tried to struggle in the Akatsuki's grasp, but it was all in vain. Muffled screams could be heard as the syringe was pressed against his neck.

"And it just so happens that you are my volunteers for the evening~!"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Tsunade shouted as she watched the man try to squirm free.

The Akatsuki let out a huff of amusement. "Again with the pointless questions. Do you take me for some kind of idiot who brags about his nasty plans to everyone he meets?" he shook his head in disappointment. "Don't answer that. It was rhetorical."

The needle pressed against the civilians neck even harder, renewing his struggles with increased fervor.

"Ah, ah, ah~!" the Akatsuki admonished in amusement. "I'd hold still if I were you. Don't want to accidentally stab something important~."

While the ninja had no obligation to rescue the unaffiliated hostage and could simply let him die, they still had their morals to adhere to. If they could end the confrontation without blood being spilled, that would be ideal. But they wouldn't go out of their way to save him. So for the moment, they tried to come up with a plan of attack.

"But as for the location of our serpentine friend, he is currently watching our confrontation play out from an undisclosed location a safe distance away. And I won't even bother hiding what you yourselves will soon realize." the man remarked as he momentarily removed the syringe from the mans neck to wave his hand. "Your medical services are no longer needed. Orochimaru's medical condition is now the best it's been in years. Courtesy of yours truly of course~."

The threat level of the Akatsuki man had just skyrocketed. By claiming to have perfectly healed one of the Leaf's most notorious missing-nin, that spoke volumes of his skill as a ninja, as well as where his intentions leaned towards.

"Ah, but I'm sure my new friend must be getting somewhat impatient. Time for us to begin in earnest."

The syringe was properly stabbed into the mans neck, and the plunger was pushed down, injecting the unknown liquid into his bloodstream.

For a few moments nothing happened. The Akatsuki removed the syringe and returned it to the inside of his coat, and the man stood in place, only slightly swaying on his feet.

...

...

...

"GYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The man cried out in unimaginable agony despite his gagged mouth. He collapsed to his knees and began to claw at his own throat with his head arched back. His teeth then bit straight through his rope-gag, and he began to scream even more.

"AAAAGHHHHH! HIIIIIIIEEEEEE! GRRRUUUUUOOOOO!"

His body would constantly spasm as he continued trying to tear something out from beneath his skin. Then they heard it. The sound of bones snapping beneath his flesh, of muscles tearing, and veins bursting. It was a horrible, nightmarish sound that caused them to feel sick to their stomachs.

He managed to break his hands free from their restraints and fell forward on his hands and knees. Retching as hard as he could, black gunk started to drip from his mouth. And as if straight out of some mad science experiment, his joints and muscles started to expand and deform his body. The back of his shirt tore in half as his spine enlarged and strained against the fabric. Turning his gaze up, the ninja noticed that his eyes looked bloodshot, only that the veins were black instead of red.

"I do hope you enjoy my gift! I prepared it specially for this occasion!" the Akatsuki member crooned as the man thrashed about.

Bringing his arms up as high as he could, the man slammed them down into the ground, causing the earth to crater and kick up an explosion of rock and dust.

"Where is he?!" Naruto shouted as the dust concealed the man.

Even though he was out of sight, they could still hear the mans cries of agony and the snapping of his bones as his body became deformed.

It wasn't until a figure lunged out of the cloud of debris that the chaos resumed. The four ninja scattered as a massive fist collided with their previous location, utterly destroying the road as a result.

Where man once was, now stood monster. His skin was turning a pallid red with bulging muscles and veins rippling across his body. The mans left arm had grown exponentially in size, but the majority of his body had yet to do the same. It looked as if the left half of his face was being pulled towards his enlarged arm, causing his facial features to stretch and distort to form an expression of rage.

"Kill them."

" **GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!"**

 **(-)**

"Apparently he's trying to go for something along the lines of Berkin's first form from Resident Evil 2. Tch, hopefully he makes it more like an actual demon by the end."


End file.
